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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26078338">A Promise is Forever</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jarofsunshine/pseuds/Jarofsunshine'>Jarofsunshine</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adora (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Adora Has Issues (She-Ra), Adora Needs Therapy (She-Ra), Adora's Sleep Fighting, Adora/Catra (She-Ra) Fluff, Catra (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Catra Has Issues (She-Ra), Catra Needs Therapy (She-Ra), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Adora/Catra (She-Ra), F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Married Characters, Mentioned Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra), Mystacor (She-Ra), Nightmares, Past Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra)'s A+ Parenting, Wedding Fluff, Wedding Planning, Weddings, adora has scars</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 02:41:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>21,385</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26078338</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jarofsunshine/pseuds/Jarofsunshine</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Promises had always been special for Catra and Adora. They'd shared many since their early childhood. A promise to stick together. A promise to hold on. A promise to live. A promise to stay. But it was never about whatever was promised. It was about the word itself, because a promise guarantees a future. Because a promise is forever.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adora &amp; Bow (She-Ra), Adora &amp; Catra (She-Ra), Adora &amp; Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow &amp; Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Catra &amp; Glimmer (She-Ra)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>199</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Our Dance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Promise.</p><p>"What a concept," Catra thought out loud, resting her head against the tree behind her. The whispering woods were by no means quiet at this time of night, with sounds of rustling, newly-released magic around every turn, but the noise was a welcome kind, comforting even. So much so that Catra had begun escaping to the whispering woods when the unfamiliar stillness of a war-free world and the foreign surroundings of her new life in Brightmoon all became just...too much. Right now, she was supposed to be attending some formal event Glimmer was hosting, but, between the people and the talking and the dirty looks she still got, Catra needed an escape. She knew she wasn’t good with people just yet, and she knew not everyone would be so willing to forgive her as some people were. Still, the constant reminder of all the damage she’d done present at every social event in the passive remarks and despising glares.</p><p>“Prow.” Melog nudged her elbow, pushing into her side to bring her out of her thoughts. Catra sighed.</p><p>“Yeah, I know I have to go back soon. Just—Just give me a minute. I’m not ready just yet.” Melog seemed satisfied with that answer since they removed themselves from under Catra’s arm and disappeared. Adora would probably be looking for her by now. Then again, the mighty She-Ra was always kept busy at these sorts of things; Adora probably hadn’t even had a spare second to think, much less wonder where Catra had gone. Still, Catra wanted to be there when Adora did manage to finally slip away from the talkative Etherians.</p><p>"So, this is where you go when you vanish." Catra jumped up, hair on end and senses on high alert, at the sudden voice, but one glance ensured it was no threat.</p><p>"We seriously need to put a bell on you, Sparkles," Catra scoffed, instinctively tearing her eyes away from the young queen. Glimmer chuckled as she walked over to her friend.</p><p>"Yeah, sorry about that. I have this bad habit of showing up out of nowhere. I didn't mean to scare you." Although her tone was playful, her concern slipped into her words. "What are you doing out here anyway?"</p><p>"Needed some fresh air," Catra muttered.</p><p>"Well, are you done yet? Could you come back now? Please?" Catra smirked.</p><p>"Aww! Are you missing me, Sparkles?" Glimmer shrugged down an embarrassed blush.</p><p>"Maybe a little bit. You always make things more...fun." Catra raised a brow at her.</p><p>"Wow. That's a funny way to say I cause problems." Glimmer's eyes immediately went wide with shock.</p><p>"That's not what I meant!" She squeaked indignantly, waving her hands around and shaking her head wildly. Catra couldn't help but burst into a fit of laughter.</p><p>"Sure, Sparkles," She said, nudging the queen playfully with her elbow.</p><p>"Really! I get so caught up in queen stuff sometimes, boring diplomacy and rules and stuff, that I can't really let myself be anything else. When you're around, I— it's hard to explain, but I kind of let go a little bit. I don't focus so much on being Queen Glimmer of Brightmoon so much as just letting myself be Glimmer. It's nice to let go like that sometimes, you know." Glimmer smiled genuinely at Catra, warmth written on her face. Catra felt her face heat up at the unfamiliar affection. Catra had never thought anyone (aside from Adora, of course) could think so much of her. It made her feel...loved, wanted, something she had never had too much of.</p><p>"Yeah," She breathed out, barely audible over the ambient sounds of the woods. Wordlessly gesturing Glimmer to follow her, Catra began walking back towards the Brightmoon castle. "Alright. Let's go back to the lion's den."</p><p> </p><p>Adora nodded and smiled mindlessly. That seemed to be a good enough response, given that the group of Plumeria citizens clapped and giggled excitedly before resuming talking over each other again. She felt a little guilty for not paying proper attention to the conversation, but she couldn't bring herself to focus on anything that was being said. If she was being honest, she hadn't been paying attention for the past half-hour. She had just gotten so worn out. After struggling through countless introductions and pleasantries and endless conversations with fans of the legendary She-Ra, who wouldn't be worn out. Adora looked around, scanning the room for Catra for the hundredth time. All she had wanted tonight was to have a good time with her friends and her girlfriend, away from She-Ra. However, the many Etherians who only knew her as the magic warrior had kept her occupied the entire night.</p><p>"Excuse me for interrupting, but She-Ra is needed elsewhere at the moment," Bow dipped in, like the angel he was. He put a hand on Adora's shoulder, leading her away from the group. Once they were out of earshot he leaned over and whispered, "You looked like you could use an out."</p><p>"Thank you, Bow. You're a lifesaver," She whispered back. "Hey, do you know where Catra is? I lost her when the Salineas Socialites dragged me off."</p><p>"No idea," Bow replied with a shrug. "Glimmer's been missing for a while. I figured they're together somewhere."</p><p>"Oh." Adora frowned, a slight twinge of guilt tugging at her heart. She had promised Catra that she wouldn't get caught up in She-Ra business tonight, but here she was, sneaking out onto the balcony to evade numerous She-Ra fanatics. Once again, she had broken her promise. She chewed at her lip, a nervous habit she had picked up in childhood. "I guess they're alright if they're together." Bow squeezed her shoulders in an unconventional side hug, giving her a sympathetic smile.</p><p>"I'm gonna go look around for them. Why don't you stay out here for a few? You know, get some fresh air, take a breather?" Adora nodded, shifting her weight to lean over the edge of the balcony. She didn't even look back as the balcony door closed, preoccupied with stargazing. It was still strange to look up and see things in the sky. Compared to the nothingness that occupied that space before, the endless specks of light seemed out of place. It was crazy to think that she had been among those various twinkling lights not that long ago. It was crazy to think that this used to be Etherian nights all the time. "I bet Mara looked at these stars," she said to herself.</p><p>Suddenly,movement in the brush beneath her caught Adora's attention. She peered over the side to get a better look and noticed a familiar flash of light. In a matter of seconds she heard the signature sound of teleportation behind her.</p><p>"Hey, Adora." Adora twisted around to look behind her, a relieved smile gracing her lips. Catra and Glimmer were standing there, dirt slightly tinting Catra's pants and the bottom of Glimmer's dress. Catra came close, softly taking Adora's hand in her own.</p><p>"Hey, Catra. Hey, Glimmer."</p><p>"Hey!" Glimmer chirped. She swiveled her head around and knit her eyebrows together. "Uh, do you know where-"</p><p>"Bow is in there looking for you two," Adora told her, pointing to the crowded ballroom behind the door.</p><p>"Great. Thanks. I'm gonna go find him." She disappeared in a fit of sparkles, leaving Catra and Adora alone on the balcony. Catra jumped up on the balcony ledge beside where Adora was leaning, dangling a leg over the side. Adora bit her lip again, staring at her girlfriend, words passing through her head before she finally let them out.</p><p>"Catra, I'm so sorry." Catra turned her head to look at Adora, a confused look upon her face.</p><p>"For what?" She asked. Adora raked a hand through her now loose ponytail as she sighed deeply.</p><p>"I promised I wouldn't get caught up with She-Ra business, but then one person came up to me, and then another, and another, and then one thing led to another, and-" Before she could continue her babbling, Catra cut her off with a small peck on the lips.</p><p>"You talk too much," she explained, smirking at Adora's red tinted cheeks. Despite the teasing, Catra could tell how serious Adora was taking this. She pulled Adora closer to her with her tail, wrapping it securely around her waist. "Don't worry about it. I know you didn't want everyone to practically kidnap you. S’not your fault all of Etheria’s part of some She-Ra fanclub.”</p><p>"But it was still a promise," Adora sighed, leaning into Catra. "I just— I don't feel good about breaking it, even if you say it's okay. I mean, I didn't even see you anywhere in there  after the second time someone came up to us asking for She-Ra." Catra, knowing the full weight of a promise for them and knowing how Adora’s brain works, could understand that; she understood better than anyone. She hopped off of the ledge and grabbed onto Adora's shoulders, forcing the blonde to turn and look at her.</p><p>"Adora, you didn't see me because I stepped out for a bit, but it had nothing to do with you, okay? I'm just still getting used to all this social stuff and these proper princess principalities." Adora nodded, reaching up to squeeze one of Catra's hands, but she still had that same distant look on her face. Catra rolled her eyes. "Would it make you feel better if I said you never broke that promise?" She asked, casually brushing her tail against Adora’s leg in familiar affection.</p><p>"What?" Adora questioned. What did Catra mean by that? She had to be She-Ra all night, and never got to spend any time with Catra; she broke the promise.</p><p>"Well, technically, you didn't get caught up with She-Ra, everyone else did." Huh, Adora thought. She hadn't really thought about it like that, but of course Catra would. "Plus, the party isn't over yet. We still have time to spend together. If I remember correctly, you also promised me a dance, princess, and that is something you're definitely not getting out of." Adora giggled and rolled her eyes.</p><p>"I love you so much, Catra," she said softly, leaning in for a kiss and pressing their foreheads together.</p><p>"I love you too, Adora," Catra said back, moving her hands to cup Adora’s face. "But how about we cut the chit-chat and get to dancing already. I wanna show up everyone else here." Adora laughed out loud.</p><p>"Show up? We probably have the least amount of dance experience here; I doubt we'll be showing anyone up," She said, shaking her head. Catra smirked.</p><p>"Oh, I wasn't talking about the actual dance. Although, we'll still probably wipe the floor in that category too. I was talking about showing off my absolutely stunning girlfriend, Adora." In that moment, not even Adora's signature jacket could rival the shade of red covering Adora's face.</p><p>"Catra!" Adora squealed. Catra chuckled, raising her head triumphantly.</p><p>"How’s it feel to get a taste of your own sappy medicine!" She laughed through a grin.</p><p>And, so, they danced. They danced, and they danced, and they danced. They danced and danced until they grew too tired to dance, and when that happened they would just escape back out to the balcony together until they were ready to dance again. They ignored the dirty looks and insistent Etherians that always seemed to surround them. All that mattered was each other. All that mattered was that they were happy. All that mattered was that they were together, just like they'd promised.</p><p>"Our dance," Catra whispered at some point, after everyone else had left and they were the only one's left on the moonlit dance floor.</p><p>"Our dance," Adora whispered back in agreeance, her heart bursting at the seams.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Talk to Me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Catra," A young Adora whispered in the dark of the barracks. "Catra, are you awake?"</p>
<p>"No. Go back to sleep," Catra groaned groggily, covering her head with her pillow.</p>
<p>"Oh, sorry," Adora apologized. Catra could practically hear the sad frown in her voice. With a complaining huff, Catra swung down from her bunk, landing on Adora's with a slight thud. Neither of them would be getting much sleep tonight, but there was no way they weren’t going to talk about this.</p>
<p>"Alright. What's wrong?" Adora stared at her for a moment, her mouth opening briefly before she quickly shut it. There were faint marks on her cheeks where Catra could tell she had been crying.</p>
<p>"It's nothing. Nevermind. Forget I said anything," She said barely able to hide the telltale croakiness in her voice. Catra scoffed when she turned over, hiding her face with the thin horde-issued blanket.</p>
<p>"Well, obviously it's something, otherwise you wouldn't have said anything to begin with." When Adora didn't respond, Catra moved to lay beside her on her back. "Besides, I'm already awake. Might as well do something to pass the time, right?" Adora still didn't respond, a behavior she didn't usually exhibit. Usually, Catra would be the one refusing to speak and Adora would be the one trying to coax the answers out. Catra didn't like it the other way around. "C'mon, Adora. Whatever's going on inside that thick skull of yours couldn't possibly be that scary." After another moment's silence, Catra considered whether she should just let it go and go to sleep. She didn't want to push her best friend, her only friend, too much. Then, Adora finally spoke up.</p>
<p>"Do you— Do you think I'm a bad cadet?" Catra blinked unsure if she'd actually heard what she thought she heard. Confirming that she had, in fact, heard right, Adora sat up and looked at her expectantly.</p>
<p>"Where'd you get that idea from?" Catra asked, shocked Adora would ever even ask that.</p>
<p>"I don't know," Adora mumbled with a shrug. She shifted herself closer to Catra, silently searching for that relative comfort they had always shared. Catra let her. "I guess I'm just overthinking today's practice."</p>
<p>"What about it? You did great, like you always do." It was true. She had practically wiped the floor with everybody else. No one else could keep up– well, except for Catra, but she made sure to stay at least a little bit behind her to appease Shadow Weaver.</p>
<p>"Yeah, but I could've done better." Catra recoiled in absolute bewilderment, blankly staring at the blonde beside her.</p>
<p>"Better how? You're already surpassing literally everyone. You're, like, the top student, or whatever."</p>
<p>"I guess…" Adora faltered, chewing on her lip. "It's just, Shadow Weaver said that my time was a little off, and I did let that older cadet corner me at one point, and I didn't make my goal score–"</p>
<p>"Adora, you did fine!” Catra said, snapping Adora out of her spiraling thoughts. “I mean, you held your own against several senior cadets. You have nothing to worry about." Adora smiled. Their hands brushed against each other, the feeling brief but very much present.</p>
<p>"Yeah, I guess you're right,” Adora said, finally giving in. Catra felt the tension leave her body. She didn't show it though.</p>
<p>"Of course I am,” She said back confidently with a toothy grin, reclining back onto Adora’s pillow. Adora followed suit, lying down and resting her head next to Catra’s</p>
<p>"But what about–"</p>
<p>"Ugh!” Catra groaned loudly, yanking Adora’s blanket away from her to cover herself with it.</p>
<p>"Yeah, okay. You’re right. Sorry." The two settled back down next to each other on the small mattress, silence resuming in the darkness of the barracks. For a moment, Catra thought that Adora had fallen asleep and was about to do so herself. That is, until she heard a huff and felt the bed shift and shake slightly from Adora’s restless legs.</p>
<p>“You’re still thinking about it aren’t you?” Catra asked rolling over to meet restless blue eyes. Adora stopped moving immediately, reverting back to chewing her lip instead.</p>
<p>“Maybe?” Adora said, the word sounding more like a question than a statement. Catra sighed as she thought for a moment before coming up with a solution.</p>
<p>"How about this,” She started. “I'll let you know if you start slipping, but you have to promise to never do that whole not talking to me thing again and just tell me what's going on. It’s weird when you do it." That solution seemed to satisfy Adora, because she smiled and nodded at the idea.</p>
<p>"Okay. I promise."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Adora stared out the window at the fading sunset, mesmerized by the soft glow of the golden-orange sky. Little twinkling lights were already starting to shine in the sky like ethereal decorations and the air had begun to slowly drop in temperature. The brightmoon streets were relatively empty, with the only people still occupying them finishing up business or on their way home. It was peacefully quiet, a picture of calm serenity. The sight was calming for Adora. It always had been.</p>
<p>Adora came here often, to this exact window, at this exact time of day, when she had first joined the rebellion. On nights when she couldn't seem to put the whirling thoughts in her mind to rest long enough to even consider turning in. Glimmer and Bow always insisted there were more than willing to stay up with her when she couldn't sleep, but she knew her friends needed their rest and didn't want to be a bother. Instead, she would just come here and stare at the sunset. It was ensured privacy since no one seemed to even remember Brightmoon Castle having a storage room. Even now, after all had been said and done, she sometimes found her feet carrying her towards the old storage room when the day drew to an end. Like right now.</p>
<p>Adora's mind was busy tonight, more so than usual. It wasn't even coherent for the most part, just fragments of a thought. Still, they all hit her the same. She was able to bypass a lot of them, but some slipped through her grasp. You're a failure, a wordless voice echoed in her head. You shouldn't be here. You don't deserve it. "No. I saved the world. I get to have a happy ending," she said out loud in assurance to herself. You're weak, it hissed, and Adora felt hot tears escape her. You disappointed the people you care about. You almost let the world end twice. You were never good enough. She wanted to object to the voice in her head, but she couldn't; She believed every word. You are a terrible She-ra.</p>
<p>A distant frustrated huff snapped Adora out of her spiral. "What do you mean you don't know where she is? She was literally just with you!" Catra's voice sounded from the hallway accompanied by her light footsteps and a set of two heavier ones.</p>
<p>"I don't know, okay! She was right there until I left the room for, like, two minutes! I mean, disappearing is supposed to be my thing!" Glimmer huffed. That much was Adora's fault. She probably should have let her know she was leaving at least.</p>
<p>"Well, good going, Sparkles! You lost my girlfriend!"</p>
<p>"Can you guys please not fight right now? Or at least wait until we find Adora? A man can only handle so much," Bow spoke up, cutting through angry growls and mumbling.</p>
<p>"Bow! You're supposed to be on my side!" Glimmer squealed.</p>
<p>"Glimmer, we might be together but I'm not choosing sides in a petty argument. I'm a pacifist." Catra chuckled.</p>
<p>"Oh, puh-lease! Big talk for an Archer who literally fought in a war! Besides, I'm pretty sure we've all committed at least one war crime at some point." Adora heard Bow gasp as both Catra and Glimmer laughed. She laughed too, snorting through her sniffles.</p>
<p>"Wait. Did you guys hear that?" In hindsight, maybe she should have snorted quieter. "I definitely heard something coming from in there."</p>
<p>"Psh. No one goes in there. That room is basically a walk-in junk drawer." Despite Glimmer's flippant response, the door to the storage room swung open, causing Adora to quickly scramble to wipe her face with the back of her hand. "Adora?"</p>
<p>"Told you," Catra stated victoriously.</p>
<p>"Hey, guys. What's up?" Adora tried her best to sound casual.</p>
<p>"What's up is that we've been looking for you forever!" Glimmer screeched. "You just disappeared on me!"</p>
<p>"Sorry. I just couldn't sit still." A lie. A terrible one at that.</p>
<p>"Uh huh." Catra rolled her eyes. "So, what are you doing here?"</p>
<p>"I like to watch the sun go down from here," Adora said, looking out the window one last time before she stood up and walked away. "But the sun's down now, and I'm kinda tired, so I think I'm gonna head to bed." She gave a smile to her friends, hurriedly opening the door and skipping out.</p>
<p>"Adora?" She heard Bow call out behind her, but she was already pacing down the hall, biting her lip to keep her emotions in control.</p>
<p>"Okay, what was all that?" Catra questioned sternly when she slammed their bedroom door shut. Adora didn't move from her spot under the blankets. As far as Catra needed to know, she was asleep. "I know you're awake, Adora. You're a terrible liar." Oh. Still, Adora didn't stir. She felt a dip behind her as Catra climbed onto the bed. "C'mon, Adora. Talk to me, please." Something about Catra's pleading voice reminded Adora of when they were younger, and she remembered a promise she had made a long time ago.</p>
<p>"I feel like I'm not a good enough She-ra," Adora admitted. Catra blinked at her.</p>
<p>"What? Where on Etheria did you get that idea?" Catra asked with an incredulous laugh. Adora sat up, finally facing Catra, but kept her gaze averted.</p>
<p>"I don't know. My mind just keeps going in circles around it. I know you'll say otherwise, but I can't help but feel like I fall short when it comes to my She-ra duties." Adora fumbled with her hand in her lap as she spoke, hesitance and uncertainty surrounding her tone and body language.</p>
<p>"What do you mean? You literally saved the universe!" Catra scoffed.</p>
<p>"Barely!" Adora shouted, looking up to show the moisture gathering at the corners of her eyes. "Catra, I don't think you understand how close I was to giving up. I–I almost failed. I almost failed big-time." Adora's voice rose in pitch and volume with every sentence.</p>
<p>"Adora…" Catra whispered, tentatively reaching out to cradle Adora’s cheek. Adora snapped her head away from the touch, pulling her legs up to her chest and scooting back until she hit the headboard.</p>
<p>"I always thought I was making the right choice, doing the right thing, but every decision I made ended up making things worse. I found the sword, and I thought I was making the right decision when I followed it. I lost you; I hurt you. I broke the sword, and I thought that was the right decision. I was wrong again, but now I didn't have She-ra. I accepted the failsafe because it felt like the best decision. I hurt you again, lost She-ra again, and almost wasn't able to use it. I–" Adora continued to spiral, her breath getting heavier and more ragged with every word, her eyes shakily bouncing all around the room.</p>
<p>"Hey, hey! Adora, look at me." Adora did, and it almost broke Catra’s heart. Her eyes were red, wet, and puffy. Her pupils were dilated in sheer panic. "Breathe." Catra stated calmly, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder to ground her.</p>
<p>"I just–I can't–" Adora gasped out, clutching at her chest. Adora, the girl everyone knew as this strong, unbreakable warrior, was breaking down. It terrified Catra. She had felt the same way plenty of times before, but seeing the girl she loved like that was painful. Adora didn’t deserve that hurt.</p>
<p>"I know. I know, Adora. I've been there. I need you to breathe with me, okay?" Adora nodded frantically. Catra slowly took Adora’s hand and placed it over her chest. She took a deep, slow, breath, guiding Adora through the motion. Adora managed to get a few steady breaths out through the hiccups and choked sobs. Eventually, her breathing returned to normal and her racing heart calmed down. At some point, Catra had moved behind her, her arms and tail now wrapped securely and protectively around her as silent tears rolled down her cheeks. Her head hurt, but at least it wasn’t spinning anymore. "Stop trying to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, Adora.” Catra whispered softly in her ear as she combed her fingers through stray blonde hairs. “You aren't supposed to be perfect. You don't have to go through anything alone. You aren't less than just because you don't live up to the superhuman fantasy you have in your head. You've never failed. If anything, I'd say you passed with flying colors in every area. You are enough. No–You're more than enough. You're amazing." Adora felt her heart swell. For the first time, Adora heard those words and actually believed them, quieting her mind. Wet tears resurfaced, but for a different reason, a good reason, this time.</p>
<p>“Thank you, Catra. For everything. I love you so much.”</p>
<p>“I love you too, dummy.” Catra said, pressing a chaste kiss to Adora’s temple. “Let’s not run or hide from each other anymore, yeah? Both of us. It’s tiring, and It’s never does anything but hurt us.”</p>
<p>“Promise?</p>
<p>“Promise.”</p>
<p>“Good.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Nightmares</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>An eerie, green glow fills the small, white room. A harmonious chanting filled the room. Cast out the shadows! Cast out the shadows! The sound was sickening as it echoed through the room, over and over again. Then, there was that sinking feeling, that nauseating feeling of falling and being pushed under the vast pool of green. It was like drowning, but not being able to struggle against it— not wanting to struggle against it. Soon, everything would wash away, all of it replaced by the blinding light of Horde Prime. Cast out the shadows! Step into the light of Horde Prime! Suddenly, there he stood, a domineering grin spreading across his face. "Now, isn't that much better, little sister."</p><p>Catra woke with a start, jerking up with a harsh gasp. Her fur was matted against her skin with sticky sweat, and her heart was racing. Her girlfriend, always the light sleeper, jerked up too mumbling in confusion.</p><p>"Huh! What? What's going on?" She mumbled, barely audible because of the groggy gravel in her voice.</p><p>"It's okay, Adora. Go back to sleep," Catra said, placing a soft kiss to Adora's temple. Of course, that's not what happened. The blonde squinted in the dark, noticing the quick rise and fall of Catra's chest, and her brows furrowed with concern.</p><p>"Are you okay? Did something happen?" She questioned, shifting closer to put an arm around the smaller girl.</p><p>"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," Catra answered breathily. Adora gave her a look, unconvinced. "I had a nightmare again."</p><p>"Do you want to talk about it?" Catra shook her head, thought about it, and changed her mind. It was Adora. She could talk to Adora. They both promised they would talk to each other. Adora loved her. Adora was safe.</p><p>"It was Prime. When he—" The words caught in the back of her throat, and she absentmindedly scratched at the back of her neck. She felt around the bed, searching for Adora, for something to ground her. Adora noticed and silently laced their fingers together, giving her hand a gentle squeeze of assurance. "When he, you know…" </p><p>"Yeah, I know," Adora said softly, rubbing Catra's back comfortingly. Catra took a few deep breaths before she spoke again, attempting to calm her racing heartbeat and think more clearly.</p><p>"It— it made me feel gross, but not just because of the creepy chants or how he was basically taking over my mind or that weird goop surrounded me. I felt gross because it felt good. I wanted to hate it; I wanted to fight against it. But, at the same time, I felt almost euphoric. It was like nothing could hurt me, like I could finally be happy. I— I knew it wasn't real happiness, but I couldn't help but get lost in that feeling." Catra shifted uncomfortably, fighting the urge to claw away at her neck where the small scars still remained. Even thinking about it formed a sinking pit in her stomach. "Adora, I was ready to die before you saved me. I was in so much pain all of the time. Even if it wasn't real, I didn't feel that pain, and it was nice. I'm disgusted with myself for it." She ended her speech with a choked sob, trying to hold in her tears. That didn't last long, though. The moment Adora pulled Catra to her chest, humming calming little tunes in her ear, Catra broke down like a dam in a river. She cried and cried into Adora's chest, gripping tightly at her sleep shirt. Adora just held her, letting the tears wet her shirt as she whispered soft assurances and gently brushed her fingers through Catra's hair.</p><p>"You shouldn't feel bad for that. It's not your fault that Prime got in your head. You were...hurting, Catra. He took advantage of that. None of that is your fault," Adora said softly once Catra’s cries had reduced to short sniffles. Catra shrugged in Adora’s hold, nuzzling her face into the crook of Adora’s neck.</p><p>"I know that, but I still feel so- so gross inside." Catra sighed, in both resignation and frustration. "And I don't think that feeling is going to go away any time soon." Adora hummed solemnly into Catra’s hair, toying with the short strands at her ears.</p><p>"Is there anything I can do about it? Anything I can do to help?" She asked, eager to do anything that would help. Catra leaned in to Adora’s touch, a purr rumbling in the back of her throat.</p><p>"This is nice. For now, at least." Adora smiled. They both smiled.</p><p>"Okay. I can do this, and I’ll be here to do it whenever you need. And, if you ever need anything else, I’ll be there if you need me for that too.”</p><p>“Promise?” Catra asked, falling back on their safe assurance.</p><p>“Of course I promise.”</p><p> </p><p>Thunk </p><p>Catra woke up suddenly on the ground. She had fallen off the bed, or rather, she was kicked off the bed. Righting herself and rubbing her side where she had been kicked, Catra looked back at the bed. Sure enough, there was Adora, thrashing about in the tangled blankets. Just another one of her sleep fighting fits. Then again, she usually wasn't this violent when sleep fighting. Usually it was just a small kick or struggle here and there. However, right now, she looked as though she was taking part in a full blown fight. Her legs kicked and twitched furiously and her arms swung into the air, attacks aimed at an invisible enemy. She let out short groans and mumbles as she threw her head from side to side, her expression tightly knit together.</p><p>"Adora," Catra called out, lightly tapping her shoulder. Adora didn't respond, only tossing around more. "Adora. Adora!" Catra kept calling out to her, grabbing her fists which were still punching wildly at nothing, one of them coming close to Catra's face. It was mildly concerning how difficult it was to wake Adora, considering how light of a sleeper she usually was. "Adora, wake up!"</p><p>"No!" The girl cried as she jolted up. She looked around in a panic, letting out a sigh of relief when she noticed Catra holding her arms in front of her. "You're here. You're okay." Adora’s arms broke away from the firm hold they were previously locked in, flying up to cradle Catra’s face like she was a fragile item that could break any minute.</p><p>"Why wouldn't I be?" Catra asked. Adora tore away, sinking into the pillows. "You were sleep fighting again. Except, it got really intense."</p><p>"It was just a dream,” Adora said, mostly to herself, pulling herself into a hug. Catra sat down next to her, opening her arms, which Adora gladly fell into, squirming a bit before settling in between Catra’s legs and throwing her arms around the other’s neck.</p><p>"Can you tell me what happened? Only if you want to, though. I know it can be hard." Catra asked, wrapping her arms around Adora’s waist and resting her forehead on Adora’s.</p><p>“I— I couldn’t save you,” She said, her voice breaking. “We were on his ship, and you were still chipped, and everything was the same. It was just like it happened before, but this time I couldn’t save you. I had to fight you again, and then you fell, and that was it. You were— You were gone. You were gone, and I couldn't summon She ra to bring you back. I couldn't save you. I lost you forever.”</p><p>“Hey, I’m right here. I’m alive. I’m okay.” Catra grabbed Adora’s hand and placed it on her chest so that Adora could feel her heartbeat, proving that she was, in fact, alive and well. “See? Perfectly fine, Adora. You saved me, and I’m here with you. We’re here together.”</p><p>“You’re real,” Adora said breathlessly.</p><p>“Yeah. Yeah, I’m real, Adora,” Catra repeated. “And I’m not going anywhere. Not now and not ever”</p><p>“Promise?”</p><p>“I promise. Whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with me, Princess.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Memories in Mystacor</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Finally! Ugh! I've been itching for a vacation for forever!" Glimmer exclaimed. "I’m so excited to be responsibility free for a couple of days! I can't wait to take a nap by the beach, and relax in the springs, and do everything else we missed out on last time we were here!"</p><p>"Speaking of, are you sure you'll be okay, Adora?" Bow asked, turning his head to look at the girl in question.</p><p>"Yeah!" She responded enthusiastically. "I mean, I'm glad we get to visit Mystacor without the threat of war or inevitable doom breathing down our necks."</p><p>"Glimmer!" Castaspella called out, briskly marching over to the group. Glimmer shot a glare in Bow's direction, To which he shrugged sheepishly. Casta took the time to squeeze each of them, excluding Catra, individually with a bone crushing hug before she started her ramblings. "Oh, I am so excited to see you all! Thanks to Bow letting me know you were coming, I have everything ready for you." She looked between them, noticing Glimmer's slight annoyance at her aunt's affections."Not to take your time to relax away from you, but I just figured it would be nice if I could have dinner with my niece and her friends."</p><p>"Dinner sounds great, Castaspella," Catra said, earning her a death glare. "Say, you don't happen to have any stories from when Glimmer was young, do you?"</p><p>"Wonderful! Of course I do! Oh! I finally finished those extra sweaters for you two girls! Which reminds me, why aren't you two wearing your sweaters?" She raised an accusing eyebrow at Glimmer and Bow.</p><p>"We, uh, haven't had the chance to do laundry," Bow suggested, sounding more like he was asking a question than stating an excuse.</p><p>"Well, why didn't you say so! I'll start working on another so you won't run into that issue again. Anyways, I'll leave you kids be for now. See you at dinnertime!" The woman scurried off before they had a chance to respond.</p><p>"She's…" Catra trailed off.</p><p>"Embarrassing!" Glimmer shouted in frustration.</p><p>"I was going to say lively, but I do look forward to those stories," Catra said with a teasing smirk.</p><p>"Why you—"</p><p>"Why don't we go find our rooms?" Adora interjected, sensing an incoming fist fight.</p><p>"Good idea, Adora," Bow said as they each grabbed hold of their respective girlfriends.</p><p> </p><p>Catra and Adora walked through the halls of Mystacor hand in hand. The moment they had reached their rooms, Castaspella had come in and snatched Glimmer and Bow away, something about their future and settling down, so the two of them were left alone for the time being, which they totally didn’t mind.</p><p>"So, what did you do the first time you were here?" Catra asked curiously.</p><p>"Oh, you know...stuff,” Adora said, obviously avoidant of the topic.</p><p>"Stuff?" Catra raised an eyebrow. "What kind of stuff?"</p><p>"Uh, Glimmer and Bow tried to get me to relax. They had me sit still and be quiet down at the beach."</p><p>"Hah! How did that go?" Catra snorted.</p><p>"Not that well. I didn't even last a minute,” Adora said, laughing along with Catra. “I did fall asleep in the steam grotto, though."</p><p>"Ick, water! I think I'll skip out on that part,” Catra said, grimacing. “But I would be down for a dry nap with you.”</p><p>"I think you can—" Adora stopped abruptly in front of a sickeningly familiar statue. It was tall and worn with a veil covering the lower half of the sorceress's face. The small plaque below it read Light Spinner, although it looked as though someone had tried to carve the name out multiple times over. Even through the disheveled stone and different look, Catra could still see the person behind the grey, sculpted face staring down at them: a long, long, long gone image of their recently deceased somewhat mother figure. Catra looked between Adora, who was furiously biting her lip, and the large statue.</p><p>"Adora? Is there something else that happened that you haven't told me about?" Catra asked, prompting Adora, but careful not to sound too pushy in her tone. Adora didn’t tear her eyes away from the statue, locking distant gazes with the inanimate stone face.</p><p>"Shadow Weaver was here." Catra noticed how Adora gripped her hand tighter when she said it.</p><p>"She was here?"</p><p>"Yeah. She kept messing with my head the whole time. Her shadows followed me everywhere, but no one else saw them. Everyone kept telling me that it was just the stress getting to me, and I tried to believe it, but it felt so real everytime. It felt like I was going crazy. She— She made me think you were here.. She made me think Glimmer hated me. She pretended to be Bow to try and get me to leave." Adora looked at the darkness down the hall, as if she were looking for those same shadows to resurface and ruin her happiness once more. Catra stepped closer resting her chin on Adora’s shoulder to let her know she was there. “When I figured out what was going on, I went back to fight her. Even then, she kept getting in my head. She tried to convince me to go back to the Horde. Well, she didn’t really try to convince me; It was more like she was threatening that she would bring me back when Mystacor fell. She told me that Glimmer and Bow, or anyone in the rebellion, didn’t really care about me. She told me I was only what she made me to be, a ruthless warrior, and that I would be nothing without her. She tried to blame Mystacor almost being destroyed on me.” </p><p>"She really loved to get in our heads and mess us up, huh?" Catra said with a bitter, cathartic chuckle.</p><p>“Yeah. I believed every word she said for a moment, even though I knew she was just trying to manipulate me. But, I snapped out of it quickly, and I stood up to her. For the first time in my life, I stood up to her.” Adora stopped, turning around to face Catra. She Lowered her gaze to the ground in shame, shaking her head. "Catra, I'm so sorry that I didn't do anything to stop her when we were younger. I’m sorry that I didn’t stand up to her when you really needed it. I’m sorry that I didn’t see it sooner. I’m sorry—” Catra pressed a finger up to Adora’s lips, signaling for her to stop talking.</p><p>"Don't be. We were kids, Adora. I used to think that you should have done something, that you only didn't because you enjoyed being her favorite, but I realized that wasn't right. You had your own issues with her too. She hurt both of us. She tried to drive us apart, but look how that turned out." They both leaned forward falling into each other’s presence for a soft, sweet kiss, and then another, and then another. They smiled at one another, enjoying the closeness that they had been denied for so long. They had really made it out. They made it out alive, and they made it out together, and nothing could be better than that.</p><p>"Y'know, up until now, we hadn’t really talked about her since…"</p><p>"Yeah, we hadn't. Probably for the best. She doesn’t deserve to be talked about.”</p><p>“Well, yeah, but we can’t just pretend like she never existed.”</p><p>“Can’t we?” Catra asked bitterly. Adora looked down at her, locking eyes. “No, yeah, you’re right. Unfortunately, she’s existed for too much of our lives to just erase her,” Catra sighed ruefully.</p><p>“Unfortunately,” Adora echoed in the same rueful manner.</p><p>“But we are definitely not carrying her name to the future generations, right?” Catra asked, joking, but dead serious. Adora laughed, nodding fervently.</p><p>“Oh, yeah, definitely not! Let whatever legacy she was trying to create can shrivel up and die. Forget that!.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, I’ll hand it to you this time, Sparkles. This is actually really nice,” Catra admitted as she stretched out on the small, cotton beach towel, allowing for her back to soak in the warmth of the mid-day sun.</p><p>“See! I told you it wouldn’t be as horrible as you thought it would be,” Glimmer said, smiling triumphantly.</p><p>“I still don’t see the point.” Adora said, laying her own towel down beside Catra’s and dusting herself off of any small grains of sand clinging to her skin before laying down.</p><p>“We’ve told you before, Adora; There isn’t supposed to be a point to relaxing,” Bow said for the upteenth time that day. “You’re not supposed to be doing anything!” Adora just shook her hands, throwing her hand up in mock surrender.</p><p>“I still don’t get it. That part is the exact part that I don't get.” Bow rubbed his temple and sighed loudly. She put a hand on Bow’s shoulder. “It was a valiant effort, though.”</p><p>“Of course you still wouldn’t get it, Adora,” Catra said with a roll of her eyes. “You’re such an idiot, you can’t figure out how to relax.” Adora hummed rolling over so that she was pressed against Catra’s side.</p><p>“Maybe, but I'm your idiot.” She placed a short, sweet kiss to Catra’s shoulder. Catra rolled over so that they were facing each other. Adora had a dopey, lovesick grin, looking at Catra like she was her world. Catra’s eyes were full of love and adoration.</p><p>“Yeah, you are.” Adora leaned forward, pressing her lips to Catra’s for a slightly awkward, but incredibly sappy kiss.</p><p>“Barf! Get a room, lovebirds!” Glimmer squawked, feigning her disgust from under Bow’s arm.</p><p>“You’re one to talk, Sparkles. You and Arrows are literally all over each other all of the time! I swear I saw you two making out in the war room once.” Bow choked on the drink he had just taken a sip of, both him and Glimmer turning a deep shade of red.</p><p>“Catra!” The queen squealed in a shrill, high-pitched voice, muffled by her hands covering her face.</p><p>“Or maybe twice. Three times, perhaps?” Catra egged on, knowing and awaiting the annoyed response Glimmer was sure to give.</p><p>“I swear I’m going to kill you one of these days!”</p><p>“What? I’m not doing anything!” She insisted innocently, but the mischievous expression and devilish grin on her face said otherwise. The banter carried on like that, but it never escalated, and, eventually, it stopped all together when the best friend squad had all but fallen asleep.</p><p>“Hey, Adora?” Catra whispered into Adora’s collarbone.</p><p>“Yeah?” Adora answered.</p><p>“Promise we’ll never let her come in between us again.” Adora held Catra closer. For so long, Shadow Weaver had driven them apart. She did it when they were kids. She did it when Adora left. She did it when she left. She did it after they had finally made their way back to each other. She had strived to drive a wedge between them up until the moment she died. Now, that wedge was gone. They had each other, and no one would ever tear them apart again. As long as they had each other...</p><p>“Okay. It’s a promise.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Scars and Forgiveness</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Adora stood in front of the mirror, silently observing the person staring back at her. It wasn't often that she actually looked at herself in a mirror. I mean, really, really looked at herself in a mirror. She had spent several months moving from place to place and fighting off an evil space dictator and his army, so there wasn't much time for reflection, both figuratively and literally. Then there was the reconstruction work, which was still a work in progress. But, now, in this brief moment, she has all the time in the world.</p>
<p>One thing she noticed were the obvious scars all over her body. They were marks left behind to remind her of everything she— everything they all— had been through. Sure, she already knew she had some scars, some of them she'd had since she was a kid in the Horde, but the ones from before didn't seem so evident. After all, there was a reason she still wore the same long sleeve shirt, aside from the practicality of it. Glimmer and Bow had somehow convinced her to swap out her usual outfit, insisting it was way too worn out. However, the Brightmoon style clothing Glimmer had laid out for her left her feeling a little exposed. The shirt was backless and was held up by two small straps on her shoulders. The front came down much lower than Adora was used to. Then again, that doesn't say much. Just about everything was covered up when she wore her turtleneck. Even when she was She-ra, a good portion of her skin was covered up, either by clothing or the blinding magical glow that radiated from her being. Now, all of the light lines and gashes seemed to stick out like a sore thumb against her otherwise clear skin.</p>
<p>Her fingers grazed against an extremely faint, but particularly painful, heart-shaped pattern across her chest. Maybe it was just that powerful, or maybe it was manifestation, but somehow the failsafe had left its mark on her. It was significantly light and almost unnoticeable, but, to Adora, it was painfully eye-catching. Perhaps it was because of the physiological scars that accompanied it.</p>
<p>"Hey, Adora," Catra called as she came in, closing the door behind her. She strutted over to where Adora was in front of the mirror and slung her arms around the taller girl's waist.</p>
<p>"Hey, Catra," Adora sighs from far off, running her thumb over an older scar on her shoulder.. Catra was quick to pick up on the atmosphere, giving her girlfriend a comforting squeeze.</p>
<p>"What's wrong?" She asked, meeting Adora's eyes in the mirror.</p>
<p>"Huh? Oh! It's nothing. Just checking out my outfit." Adora snapped out of her trance, blinking away any stray tears starting to form.</p>
<p>"Whatever," Catra scoffed. "You know, Netossa was right; you can't act to save your life." Adora shook her head insistently.</p>
<p>"What? No, I—" Catra's eyes followed her arm to the place on her shoulder where she was still rubbing at the light strip of skin.</p>
<p>"It's your scars, isn't it?" Adora's eyes grew wide before they fell to the floor in resignation and shame. There was no way she could avoid talking about it now. She opened her mouth a couple of times to say something, but quickly closed it each time. "It's okay. You don't have to say anything." Adora nodded, a silent 'thank you', and leaned into her girlfriend. Catra raised her hand to trace down the short, pink lines on the backside of Adora’s shoulder. Adora flinched at the touch and Catra yanked her hand away. "Sorry! I wasn't thinking! I didn't mean—"</p>
<p>“It’s okay, Catra,” Ador assured her, taking her hand and placing it back on her shoulder. “I just wasn’t expecting it, is all. You can touch them.”</p>
<p>“How many do you have?” Catra asked. “Scars, I mean.”</p>
<p>“Well,” Adora turned around, “I don’t think I could count them all, but I can show you some of the more important ones.”</p>
<p>“Yeah.” Catra’s breath caught in her throat. “Sure. okay.” Shockingly, or at least to Catra, Adora didn’t start with any of the ones Catra was involved with.</p>
<p>“She ra usually heals most of my wounds and scars, but sometimes she doesn’t. This one,” She said pointing to the shape on her chest, “is pretty self explanatory. I mean, it only happened, like, eight months ago, and you were there for it.” She rolled up the hem of her shirt, revealing small, criss-crossed lines on the side of her stomach. “I actually don’t know the exact way I got these, but I know they’re from the battle of Thaymore because there was nothing right there until the night after that. I’m pretty sure they only scarred because I was just figuring out She ra back then." She let her shirt fall back down and pointed at a spot on her thigh. “I got this while fighting bots, when the Horde first started making the more advanced bots. I let my guard down, one of them blew up, and the explosion left a burn mark.” A memory surfaced in Catra’s mind, one where she initiated a bot to self destruct. Adora must have forgotten some details, but who can really blame her. She held out her arm to display the lines starting at her shoulder where she had been tracing earlier. “I got these and some other smaller ones while fighting Prime’s clones. I probably wouldn’t have them if it weren’t for the fact that I didn’t have She ra at the time being.” She brushed the hair away from her neck and felt over a connected line of shapes, similar to the one on her chest, stemming from behind her ear and down to her collarbone. It was extremely faint, barely visible if you weren’t looking at it up close, but it was there. Catra had seen these before, but hadn’t commented on them for the same reason no one asked her about the one on her chest. It just seemed really personal. “I’ve had these since the heart of Etheria was almost activated, when I broke the sword. It's First One’s writing, like the heart is. It actually covered my whole body, but this glyph was still there after everything else disappeared. I don’t really know why.” At last, she turned around, baring the raised, discolored lines on her back. This was the blow Catra had been waiting for. Adora didn’t say anything when Catra idly ghosted over the scars, but she drew back abruptly when Catra actually touched them. She shook her head, clearing out unwanted thoughts, and focused on relaxing her muscles again. “Sorry,” She said, sounding almost guilty. “Just... Just some bad memories.”</p>
<p>Yeah, Catra thought, instinctively extending and retracting her claws. Bad memories. Bad memories that Catra had shared with her, had caused. Staring down the two sets of lines on Adora's pale skin, Catra felt a bitter vile settle in the back of her throat.</p>
<p>She remembered the first set of lines, the larger, more sunken-looking lines that lined up perfectly with her claws. She remembered the agonizing look on Adora's face when she made them. She remembered the feeling of breaking through Adora's skin. She remembered the confusing mix of feelings, switching between guilt and pride, sympathy and bitterness. She remembered finding dried bits of blood still wedged under her claws when she washed her hands later that night. She remembered scrubbing profusely for hours, even after the blood was most definitely gone, leaving her hands red and raw. She ended up crying herself to sleep that night, only to wake up sweaty, shaking, and out of breath a few hours later, horrified at what she’d done.</p>
<p>The second set was less visible, barely scratching the surface compared to the other set, but Catra could still recognize the pattern. Although she didn't exactly remember the moment she did it, she knew when and where the markings came from. She winced at the memory of green.</p>
<p>"I'm—I'm sorry, Adora. I'm so sorry." She clenched her fist, letting them fall to her sides. Adora turned around to face Catra and placed a tender kiss on her head as she pulled the shorter girl into a warm embrace.</p>
<p>"Catra, It's okay." Catra felt her fury bubble inside of her. How was she being so calm about this? How was any of this okay? She clenched her fist harder, to the point where she felt the sting of her claws sinking into the flesh of her palms.</p>
<p>"No!" Catra shouted a little more harsh than she had meant to be. "It's not okay! It wasn't okay then and it isn't okay now!"</p>
<p>"Catra…" Adora whispered softly, a pained look painting her face. Catra held up a hand, silencing any other words that might have come out of her mouth.</p>
<p>"I know what you're gonna say, and don't say it." Adora quietly resigned, biting her lip. "I know you keep saying you forgive me, and you're glad I'm trying to make it better and all that, but that doesn't make it okay! I really hurt you. I really hurt a lot of people. I was bitter and angry, and I took it out on innocent people, destroying lives! That's something I'll have to live with for the rest of my life." Liquid anguish burned at the corners of Catra's eyes. Although she couldn't see Adora's back anymore, the image of those scars— her claw marks— was still fresh in her mind. The image of three faint parallel lines, forever etched into the blonde's skin, made Catra visibly since. "I left behind scars, Adora. Those last forever, or at least for a really really long time. I caused permanent damage. That will never go away."</p>
<p>"Are you done?" Adora chuckled bittersweetly. "Because I have something to say too."</p>
<p>"W-what?" Catra stumbled in her words, caught off guard by Adora’s sudden change in tone.</p>
<p>"Give yourself a little credit, Catra. Yeah, sure, you've done some pretty bad things—"</p>
<p>"It's more than just—" Adora held out a hand to silence Catra.</p>
<p>"No, it's my turn now." Catra quickly closed her mouth, partially out of shock and partially out of fear of this new side of her girlfriend. "Yeah, you've messed up and hurt people, and that isn't okay. But you're trying. You're trying to help fix it. You're trying to make amends. You're remorseful and regretful. The Catra that gave me those scars back then is not the same as the Catra standing in front of me right now. The Catra in front of me insisted that she should be put on trial and given a proper punishment the moment we set foot in Brightmoon. The old Catra, the one that hurt people, the one that hurt me, would never have done that in a million years." Adora let out another loud laugh, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. Catra noticed her own eyes were watering now too. "Stars, the old Catra never would have apologized, even if you held a knife to her throat! Yet, here you are, apologizing for, like, the 15th time this month."</p>
<p>"Tch. You're starting to rub off on me, Princess." Catra swiped at her eyes with her wrist, but Adora pulled her hands down, gently brushing a hand over her cheek.</p>
<p>"My point is: you want to change. You recognize what you've done and feel guilty. You want to do better— be better! You're willingly taking a step in the right direction. Sure, it doesn't magically make everything okay, but we've got time now. We have a whole future ahead of us and we can't spend it all worrying about everything we did wrong." Catra looked up to meet her blue eyes and saw that they were completely filled to the brim with unwavering love.</p>
<p>"That still doesn't make up for what I've done, Adora,” Catra said delicately, leaning into Adora’s touch.</p>
<p>"No, it doesn't. But it at least counts for something, right?" Adora tucked a short hair behind Catra’s ear and leaned down to kiss her. “You can’t change what happened in the past, but we’re here now, in the present, and that’s what really matters.”</p>
<p>“I don’t know how I got the best, most understanding, most forgiving, most gorgeous girlfriend in the universe,” Catra said, kissing punctuating each descriptor with a short kiss to Adora’s lips, making the blonde chuckle.</p>
<p>“Same here. Just, make me a promise?” Catra raised her eyebrows questioningly. “Promise me you’ll leave room to forgive yourself?” Catra sucked in a breath. She hadn’t heard it phrased like that, hadn’t thought of it like that. Forgiving herself. She wasn’t sure she could do that for herself. Not yet, anyways. She looked into Adora’s eyes again. Adora forgives me, even after all I’ve done, Catra thought to herself. If she can do it, maybe I can too, for her.</p>
<p>“Okay.” Adora’s face lit up, a smile gracing her lips.</p>
<p>“Okay?” She beamed.</p>
<p>“Okay.” Catra repeated. Before she could realize it was happening, Adora lifted Catra into the air and spun her around.</p>
<p>“I love you so much,” She said, pulling Catra into a long, breathless kiss.</p>
<p>“I love you too, Princess,” Catra told her when they reluctantly pulled away from each other for oxygen. They smiled sweetly at each other before leaning in for another breathless kiss.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Time with Razz</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Why are we out here again?’ Catra asked as they hiked through the Whispering Woods, pushing through large spurts of brush.</p>
<p>“To go see Razz!” Adora beamed.</p>
<p>“And, why exactly are we going to see the old lady?” Catra asked with a slight grimace. Adora told her about Razz before. She visited the old hermit woman at least once every two weeks.</p>
<p>“Because, Catra, I realized the other day that you had never actually met her.” Adora laughed at the ironic situation. “She mentions you so much that I forgot that I never actually introduced you to her.”</p>
<p>“She mentions me? Do you really talk about me that much, Adora?” Catra teased, playfully shoving her. Adora shoved back, rolling her eyes with a scoff.</p>
<p>“No, you big goof! Razz....” She paused, looking for the right words. “Razz doesn’t experience time the same way we do. You’ll understand when you meet her.” They had finally reached the small clearing where the strange hut sat. Adora went up to it and pushed back the tapestry used as a makeshift door.</p>
<p>“Razz!” She called out, beckoning Catra to follow her. “It’s Adora. I brought someone with me today.” With one last groan of protest, Catra followed Adora inside the hut. Inside, the old woman was sweeping furiously at the same spot. Oh, boy...</p>
<p>“Oh, is it that time already!” The woman looked up at Adora’s voice and dropped her broom on the floor. She clasped her hands together excitedly. “My, my! It hasn’t been now for a long time!”</p>
<p>“Huh?” Catra made a face at her. Razz responded with a shake of her head and a tsk tsk.</p>
<p>“Oh, Catra, dearie. Always with the attitude,” She commented, scurrying about her house. Catra wanted to say something else, retort back with an unfriendly word or two, but Adora stepped forward and spoke up instead.</p>
<p>“I know you say you’ve met her before, but I wanted to officially introduce her to you. Catra, this is Madame Razz. Madame Razz, this my girlfriend Catra.” Adora proudly held up her and Catra’s linked hands. Razz squinted at them before letting out a shrill laugh.</p>
<p>“Ha! Girlfriend!” She cackled. The old woman looked around the two girls legs, going in circles and almost knocking them both down. “Where’s the little one?” She asked after an unfruitful search.</p>
<p>“Little one?” Catra was getting more annoyed and more confused by the second. Adora didn’t seem fazed though. She stepped forward, laughing, and put a hand on the short woman’s shoulder, having to bend down to do it.”</p>
<p>“Razz, we’ve been over this,” she said softly. “We don’t have any kids, remember.”</p>
<p>“Kids?!” Catra felt her face turn bright red. She thought her and Adora had kids together!</p>
<p>“Oh. That’s right, isn’t it? The big day hasn’t happened yet, has it?” She didn’t seem fazed by her misjudgment either. She just smiled sweetly at Adora, then up at Catra. “Silly me! Oh! Pie is done!” Razz turned on her heel, continuing to scurry about.</p>
<p>“Um, Adora? What is she talking about?” Catra asked. At this point, she was ready to turn back and make a bee-line for Brightmoon castle. Adora laughed, leaning down and pressing her lips to Catra’s cheek.</p>
<p>“Try not to think about it too much. Just roll with it.” Razz shoved two baskets in their arms.</p>
<p>“Come now! We haven’t got all day!” She called as she pushed past the door. The girls followed her, rather, Adora followed her and dragged Catra along.</p>
<p>“I thought you had a pie or something?” Catra huffed. The woman turned around and started at her. Then, she burst into a loud cackle.</p>
<p>“Psh! Silly kitty! Madame Razz has no pie,” she said, and kept walking deeper into the woods.</p>
<p>“But you— you just said—” Catra stammered, very close to ripping her hair out.</p>
<p>“Like I said, Razz is a little different. Just roll with it.” Adora said that, but Catra still didn’t get how she was just so casual about this old lady going bonkers.</p>
<p>“Mara, dearie! Come help old Madame Razz, would you?” The woman called from somewhere in the brush.</p>
<p>“Did she just call you Mara? As in the last She ra?” This woman just kept getting weirder and weirder. This was going to be a long day.</p>
<p>“Yeah. She gets confused and mixes us up sometimes.” Adora said casually. She kissed Catra and walked into the brush. “Coming Razz. And, it’s Adora, by the way.”</p>
<p>“Of course, dearie. Razz knows that.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We’ve been to this exact same place three times already! What are we walking in circles for?” Catra groaned, kicking a stray rock in her path.</p>
<p>Bonk.</p>
<p>“With an attitude like that, you won’t be getting any pie.” Razz held up the basket ready to hit Catra with it again if needed. Catra threw her hands up in surrender, slowly shifting back to walk with Adora.</p>
<p>“You’re old woman is crazy, Adora!” She whisper-shouted so that the woman (probably) wouldn’t hear it.</p>
<p>“Maybe a little bit, but she knows what she’s doing. She’s really helped me figure out some things in the past.” Catra scoffed at the thought.</p>
<p>“Oh, yeah? Like what?” She looked ahead at the woman, who had somehow gotten her foot stuck in a bush and was hitting the bush with her basket to get it out. Catra highly doubted she ever actually knew what she was doing. Adora, however, was certain that she did.</p>
<p>"Well, for starters, she's the reason I know as much as I do about Mara. Razz is the only person still alive that actually knew her."</p>
<p>"She did? Geez, how old is she?" Catra commented. Adora just shrugged. Considering how long Etheria was in despondos, and that Razz was even here before the First Ones, Razz’s age was anybody’s guess.</p>
<p>"She’s also the one who told me how to stop the portal from destroying reality.” Catra gulped.</p>
<p>"O— Oh." The portal was still a hard topic to tackle. The portal almost ended it all. It would have, if it weren’t for Queen Angella. Catra had been the one to pull the lever, and she still felt guilty about it. Nonetheless, she shook the nasty thoughts and feelings away and kept talking. "How did she know?"</p>
<p>"Razz knows a lot. She just has her own roundabout way of telling you,” Adora said with a shrug. The girls were so caught up in their own conversation that they hadn’t even realized they had made their way back to the hut. Razz ran inside, muttering something about time, berries, and a pie. Adora and Catra stayed outside together for a brief moment.</p>
<p>“She’s really helped a lot with the whole saving Etheria thing then, hasn’t she?” Catra said.</p>
<p>“Yeah, she has,” Adora agreed. “So, please, at least try to be nice to her.”</p>
<p>“No guarantees,” Catra joked, pulling back the tapestry for Adora as they walked inside.</p>
<p>“Adora! Come here.” Ador went over to her and knelt down. Razz held Adora’s face with both of her hands and smiled. “Mara would be so proud of you. You too, Catra, dearie.”</p>
<p>“Thank you, Razz.” Adora smiled as she stood up. She glanced behind her shoulder, noting the sunset outside. “It’s getting late. We should head home.”</p>
<p>“So soon? But we haven’t even had pie!” Suddenly, the woman’s demeanor changed. She seemed distressed, panicky almost. Catra kind of felt bad for her.</p>
<p>“We’ll have pie next time, Razz,” Adora told her. Razz wasn’t looking at Adora after she said that. She was looking past her, searching for something in a distant memory. Then, she seemed to snap back to reality, scanning her surroundings in the little hut. She smiled sadly and looked back at Catra and Adora.</p>
<p>“Promise you’ll come back for pie soon?” She asked, her cheery, sweet voice turned unusually somber. She grabbed onto Adora’s hand. “Please, come back to see me.” This time, Catra was the one to speak to her.</p>
<p>“We promise, Razz,” She said. She didn’t miss the way Adora looked at her when she said that, with that same dopey expression on her face.</p>
<p>After that time, both Adora and Catra want to visit Razz for various pie related reasons once a week.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Kind of a short, iffy chapter. I'm probably going to come back and edit it at some point when I have the brain juice, but I wanted to go ahead and post it so that I could move on.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. A Glowing Wedding</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just a forewarning that there might be some grammar mistakes. I don't know. I finished this at 3 in the morning so anything is possible.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“That’s it! I’m not getting married!” Glimmer screamed as she paced the room furiously. “The musicians all woke up with a case of lunar pox, The baker accidentally put something that Bow’s allergic to in our cake, and now my dress doesn't fit! Is the universe trying to tell me something!” Glimmer had been rampaging for the past twenty minutes about the news. One thing wasn’t that big of a deal, but when the bride-to-be’s communicator pad rang again, and again, and again, it seemed like the whole wedding was slowly starting to fall apart. That’s when the couple’s trusted advisors came in.</p><p>"So what some mishaps happened. No big deal! We can fix it!" Adora said, trying her best to assuage her frantic friend's fears.</p><p>“But how? I’m getting married in two hours!” Glimmer screamed out as she started to pace faster. Adora grabbed onto her shoulders, holding her in place, and looked her in the eye with a bright, encouraging smile.</p><p>“Hey, don’t you worry about a thing, Queen Glimmer, bride to be. I’ll take care of everything.” She led Glimmer over the chair in front of her vanity and forced her to sit down. “I’ll call Spinerella and Netossa in here so that they can go ahead and do your hair and make up while I find a solution for your dress, okay? And then I’ll head downstairs and fix the cake issue and the music issue, okay?”</p><p>“Thank you so much, Adora. You are a lifesaver," Glimmer exhaled in relief. Adora leaned down to give her a short side hug.</p><p>"Just doing my job as the royal queen of Brightmoon's loyal best friend,” she said cheerily. “Trust me. Everything is going to go smoothly from here on out. Your wedding is going to be absolutely perfect.”</p><p> </p><p>"Nothing is going to go smoothly and my wedding is going to be a disastrous failure!” Bow wailed, pacing so fast that he was practically running from one end of the room to the other. “What if I trip and fall? What if I forget my lines?" Bow looked like he was about to explode. Or implode. Probably both, but Catra couldn't tell which was more likely to happen first. "Oh, I'm going to ruin my own wedding!" This wasn’t exactly what she had expected to deal with when Bow and Glimmer had asked her and Adora to help them out on their wedding day, but she was always up for a challenge. And what a challenge this was.</p><p>"Relax, Arrows." Catra said cooly, hoping her tone would rub off on the monstrosity of a groom. “And stop moving. I have to fix your tie for the fourth time today because you keep pulling at it.” Bow obliged, standing still but tapping his foot restlessly as Catra fixed his tie.</p><p>"I know, I know. I'm trying to calm down, it's just not working." Impulsively, Bow reached his hand up to his collar to pull at his tie again, but it was caught by a rather frustrated Catra. She gave him a warning glare and he dropped his hand back down to his side.</p><p>"Dude, It's okay. You aren't going to trip and fall on your way down the aisle, and you aren't going to forget your lines,” She assured the worrisome man. “Whatever that means,” She mumbled under her breath. Bow still seemed to hear it though because he huffed and flared his nostrils, something Catra definitely didn’t think she’d ever see from him.</p><p>"My vows, Catra! My vows! What if I forget my vows!" Bow shouted in an uncharacteristically upsetting, loud tone. Catra didn’t flinch at his sudden character change. In fact, she would almost be proud if it weren’t for the annoying wedding jitters she was having to put up with right now. She just shrugged and brushed out some of the wrinkles on the front of his shirt.</p><p>"Easy: just make it up as you go." Catra was still trying to understand everything about weddings, but she did happen to know that vows were basically just a mix of a love confession and a bunch of promises you make to your partner. It sounded so easy! She literally did that with Adora, like, all the time. And it just made more sense to improvise that kind of thing rather than plan and script them.</p><p>"It's not that simple! This day is supposed to be the best day of me and Glimmer's life!" His eyes went wide and he dragged his hands down his face, smearing the little bit of makeup that he was wearing. Catra would have scolded him again, if it would for the look of horrific nervous fear in his eyes. "Oh, no. What if she changes her mind?" Catra was losing her mind. This idiot is questioning whether his idiot fiancee still wanted to marry him. After she literally proposed to him, and took every chance she could to talk about him, and would literally skip out on important meetings because she missed him too much.</p><p>"Tell me, Bow! Why on Etheria would she change her mind?!" Catra screamed in frustration.</p><p>"I don't know!" Bow screamed back in nervousness. There was a knock at the door, and in came George, Lance, and Micah.</p><p>"Oh, thank the stars!" She gave Bow a friendly pay on the back before shoving him towards the three men and taking off for the door, mouthing an apology to the dads. "Look, I'm going to let the three amazing dads help you get ready while I track down Adora and make sure everything else is going fine, okay? Okay. Bye!"</p><p> </p><p>When Catra found Adora she was borderline arguing with the kitchen staff.</p><p>"What do you mean you can't make another cake?! We need another cake and fast! Where else are we supposed to go?!" She waved her hands around wildly in the air. Those poor, unsuspecting kitchen staff people.</p><p>"I'm sorry, Adora. We simply cannot bake and decorate a cake in such a short amount of time,” one of them tried to calmly explain to her.</p><p>"Well, we can't use the first cake! The groom can’t have any of it! I mean, how do you accidentally include the one ingredient you were asked specifically not to use?!"</p><p>"Hey, Adora. How's Glimmer?" Catra made her presence known before Adora lost it completely. As much as she’d love to see the rare occasion of her lovely woman getting mad, now was not the time and the kitchen staff were completely innocent and didn’t deserve to see that.</p><p>"Catra!" Adora perked up immediately at the sight of her love, but it was short lived. "She's a nervous wreck. What about Bow?"</p><p>"About the same." She thought about how many times he had untucked his tie, had to hear the same rant she had just heard, or the constant sighs and huffs, and scowled. "Actually I think he might be worse." Adora chuckled, but that quickly stopped and was replaced by a serious expression.</p><p>"We have trouble,” she said.</p><p>"What kind of trouble?" Catra asked.</p><p>"No dress, no cake, and no music,” Adora huffed, running a hand through her messy hair.</p><p>"On it." Catra pulled out her communicator pad, tapping away. "I'll get Sparkles a new dress, since I know your fashion sense can be…. conventional. For the cake, find the best pre-baked cake that you can and get them to decorate it to the best of their abilities while keeping it similar to the original design. As far as the music goes, I know someone. It's not perfect, but it's what we can do."</p><p>"Got it," Adora said, nodding. Catra turned to leave and go find the dress, but stopped when Adora called out. "Hey, Catra?"</p><p>"Yeah?" She asked. Adora yanked her in for a kiss, parting with a dopey smile.</p><p>"I love you.” Catra couldn’t help the grin spreading across her face. It must've been from all of the sappy, lovey-dovey stuff in the air today. Typical wedding fever. Not that Catra would ever mind getting a free kiss from Adora.</p><p>"I love you too, Princess." Catra smiled, gave her one more peck on the lips, and </p><p> </p><p>"Did someone order a dress?" Catra announced as she burst into Glimmer’s room, holding a wedding gown delicately over her head.</p><p>"Catra?” Glimmer spun her vanity chair around. “What are you doing here? I thought you were with Bow?” Ignoring her, Catra carefully set the dress down on the bed, taking extra care to not wrinkle or ruin it.</p><p>"Will this do?" She gestured to the long, purple gown that was adorned with pastel colored crystals around the neckline and bodice and mesh fabric in the train and sleeves.</p><p>"Where did this come from?" Glimmer questioned in disbelief, running the delicate fabric through her fingers.</p><p>"It was your Mother's. I asked your Dad if he knew where I could find a last minute dress, and he gave this to me for you to wear.” Glimmer froze in place and choked out a sob. For a second, Catra had thought she might have made the wrong call. She didn’t mean to make Glimmer upset on her wedding day, but now she went and did it! Great! Bow wouldn’t be the one to mess up and ruin his wedding day, because Catra—</p><p>"It's perfect,” Glimmer said through both happy and sad tears, lunging at Catra for a tight hug, no doubt messing up her makeup in the process from the feeling of a damp spot on Catra’s shirt. Once she got over the initial shock of the sudden, bone-crushing hug, Catra returned the affection, wrapping both of her arms around the smaller girl as she let her sob into her shirt. Glimmer pulled back a minute later, fanning her heated face.“Thank you, Catra. Really.”</p><p>“Anytime, Sparkles,” Catra said.</p><p> </p><p>Catra and Adora met back up in their room, running into each other’s arms the moment they saw each other. Both of them were extremely exhausted, and the wedding hadn’t even started yet. Lucky for them, they both had impeccable stamina and determination.</p><p>"The cake situation is handled,” Adora proudly declared.</p><p>"So is the dress,” Catra stated. “Wait until you see how Glimmer looks in it.”</p><p>"Great. That’s handled,” Adora sighed. “Now, what about the music?"</p><p>"I already told you. I know someone." Adora gave her a questioning look.</p><p>"Who?" she asked. Catra looked away blushing, refusing to answer. “Who is it?!”</p><p>"Don’t make a big deal over it or anything, but I might've been taking some music lessons in secret." Adora’s tired face lit up.</p><p>"Aww! You are! That is so awesome!” She looked at Catra with lovestruck eyes, pulling her into another happy kiss.</p><p>"I told you not to make a big deal about it! I just needed something to do whenever you were out on official Princess stuff." Catra took a deep breath, cooling her red cheeks. Adora loved to fluster her. "I can play for the ceremony, and I found a group willing to play the reception. I called my teacher and he connected us to someone who could be ready and here as soon as possible."</p><p>"Great! That means almost everything is taken care of!" Adora exclaimed.</p><p>"Yeah, I guess keeping Hordak’s stupid records in order did—wait. Almost everything?" Catra’s eyes shot open in dread. What could be wrong now? Could they fix it in time?</p><p>"Yeah. We still have to get dressed. We look absolutely disastrous." Relief flooded Catra’s body when she said that.</p><p>"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that,” She laughed. “We really do, huh?" The two looked down at each other’s current outfits. Thankfully, they had both thought ahead and weren’t wearing their wedding outfits until the actual ceremony. Turns out that was a genius idea, considering that they were both dripping in sweat and catra had smeared makeup all over her shirt.</p><p>"Pft! You forget that we had to get dressed. Who's the idiot now?" Adora teased, poking Catra’s nose.</p><p>"Still you." Catra replied coolly, poking her nose back and smirking.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, everything was in place. At last, the wedding was actually happening. Glimmer walked down the aisle, arm in arm with her Dad, who was doing his best (but failing miserably) at holding in his tears. Her Mother’s dress looked absolutely ethereal on her, complimenting her on every last detail. Her and Bow shared matching smiles, stretching from ear to ear. Bow had lost his big day jitters by now. Right now, he was much too busy admiring his soon to be wife to be nervous. Catra didn’t open her eyes as she focused on her instrument, reasoning that she might get dust in her eye and wouldn’t be able to play. Adora, on the other hand, wasn’t holding anything back. She was basically bawling like a baby, uselessly wiping away her tears with her sleeve. Reluctantly, Micah let go of her arm so that she could join Bow where he stood.</p><p>“It is now time for the exchange,” Casta, who apparently was certified by Mystacor to officiate weddings, told them, handing a small, pink earring to each of them. Glimmer went first beaming tearfully up at the love of her life.</p><p>“Bow, you have always been there for me since the day we met. You were my first friend, and you have always been my best friend. Being with you has been one of the best things to ever happen to me. You are my glue, my confidant, and my whole heart. I love the way you always wear crop tops no matter how cold it may be. I love the way your voice squeaks when you get a little frustrated. I love the way you laugh at my dad’s lame jokes, even when they really suck. I love the way you complain about your cheeks hurting at night because of how much you smile during the day. I love you, and I would be the happiest, luckiest girl in all of the universe to have you by my side for the rest of our lives.” Glimmer attached Bow’s earring for him, whispering something inaudible in his ear when she did. Whatever he said had Bow stammering before he was able to give his own vows.</p><p>“I don’t even have the words to begin to describe how much I love you, Glimmer. I remember when we were kids you once asked if I would ever marry you if neither of us found our soulmates. I suppose we got the best deal ever, because, from the way I see it, we got both of those things. I couldn’t ask for a better best friend or wife. I would be honored to spend the rest of my life with you, supporting you, loving you, whatever you need and whatever you want. We’ll always do it together. And, even though you drive me up the wall some days, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I wouldn’t trade your cute giggles, or your sarcastic jokes, or your fiery personality, or your totally amazing cuddles, or the way you smile at me, or your adorable dimples for the world. I love you with all of my heart.” Bow attached Glimmer’s earring to her ear.</p><p>“Atta boy,” Catra whispered sarcastically. “That wasn’t so terrible, now was it?” Casta stepped forward once it was secure, ready to conclude the ceremony with the kiss, but Glimmer and Bow already beat her to it.</p><p>“You may now—Or you could just go ahead and do it. I don’t know why I needed to say anything.” Catra stormed off of the platform while her niece and nephew-in-law kissed, causing everyone else who was watching erupt in laughter, many of them laughing through their tears.</p><p> </p><p>"Promise me we'll do this one day?" Adora asked with a wistful sigh. Catra was carrying Adora back to their room after a long reception that lasted well into the early hours of the morning, just like they liked it. Etherians sure did love to party, that was for sure. Poor Adora had not taken notice of the two distinct labels on the two punch bowls— one safe for the kids and one that was more for the adults— and drank a lot of the wrong kind. A lot. Just one drink was bad enough, for Adora that is. That was how everyone found out about Adora’s amazing improv karaoke skills. Multiple drinks in a row led to more...wild stories, such as Glimmer having to fetch Adora from the chandelier, however she managed to climb all the way up there.</p><p>"Do what?" Catr asked, shifting Adora in her arms to a more comfortable and easy to carry position.</p><p>"Have a wedding." Adora said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Promise me we’ll have a wedding like this one day.” Catra had to do a double take, not quite sure if she heard Adora correctly.</p><p>"Are you— Are you proposing to me right now?" Catra knew that it wasn’t that serious, since Adora was drunk out of her mind right now and wouldn’t remember a second of this tomorrow, but that didn’t stop her heart from dropping straight into her butterfly filled stomach and her face from heating up.</p><p>"No," she yawned into Catra’s chest. "Not yet." Yet?! She said not yet?!</p><p>"What?!" Catra yelped, almost dropping Adora.</p><p>"Jus' promise we'll have un," Adora whined, her words slurring with exhaustion and alcohol.</p><p>"Alright, fine. I promise we'll get married and have a wedding,” Catra gave in, blushing wildly.</p><p>"Yay!" The blonde exclaimed drunkenly. “Okay, I’m unna tay nyap now.” She dozed off the moment her eyes closed, snoring away.</p><p>“You do that, Princess,” Catra laughed quietly. Now she was thinking. Adora likely had no idea what she was saying. Scratch that, she definitely had no clue about the words coming out of her mouth. But, it made Catra wonder. Did Adora want to marry her one day? Did she want to marry Adora?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I haven't been to an actual wedding in forever, so I came up with a bunch of idea for different ways that Etheria did weddings and went from there (Featuring the giving your SO a special item thing)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>“Promise me we’ll do this one day?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"Do what?"</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>"Have a wedding."</em>
</p>
<p>Catra just couldn’t stop thinking about it. Her girlfriend’s drunken words replayed over and over and over again on a loop in her mind. She couldn’t escape the idea. Every last one of Catra’s thoughts all trailed back to that one moment. She was consumed by the notion. It even plagued her dreams at night, taking the shape of sappy, honey-sweet domestic fantasies. With these wonderful thoughts and fantasies, however, came the endless questions and doubts lurking in the back of her head. Did Adora actually want to get married? Or was it just the alcohol speaking? When she had said “not yet”, did that mean she wanted to propose in the future? Or did she mean she didn't actually have marriage on her mind? Or was there another meaning that Catra wasn't seeing? Or was Catra thinking way too much about a drunken conversation? Of course, Adora coincidentally didn’t remember a second of any of it when she woke up the next morning, so she could neither confirm nor deny any true intentions behind the conversation, not that Catra probably would have asked anyway. Adora, on the other hand, was worried about something else. She had noticed Catra’s unusual flustered behavior. She had noticed how their nights together seemed to always give Catra a furious blush. She noticed how Catra often got lost in thought while staring at her. She noticed how avoidant Catra seemed whenever someone would bring up Glimmer and Bow's wedding, or weddings in general for that matter. She couldn’t help but wonder if she had said something wrong that she didn’t remember. Whenever Adora asked Catra about her unusual behavior, she would simply stammer her way through a quick, cheesy excuse of a response that answered none of Adora’s questions.</p>
<p>“I just don’t get it guys,” Adora ranted one afternoon. Catra was spending the day with Scorpia, so Adora was able to get some time alone with Bow in Glimmer. “We were fine a couple of weeks ago, but now she’s acting so weird all of the time. I mean, I don’t mind her being cute and stuff, but she usually doesn’t act like that this much. I feel like I might have done something or said something, but I don’t know what it is and she won't tell me.” Bow and Glimmer exchanged glances. They had already heard this rant plenty of times before. Almost every single time they were with Adora and Catra wasn't there. It never changed.</p>
<p>“Listen, Adora,” Bow said, giving her a sympathetic look. “You have been stressing about this for the past five days. Maybe you should just let it happen. If something were really wrong, I’m sure Catra would tell you.” Adora looked between her two friends and nodded along in resignation.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” she sighed, much to Glimmer and Bow’s delight. “But, on the other hand—” She didn’t get to finish that statement since Glimmer groaned and threw a pillow at her face.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>“How did you do it?” Catra demanded, barging into Glimmer’s room without any warning.</p>
<p>“Uh, rude much? Ever heard of knocking?” Glimmer scoffed. She had been sitting at her desk, taking care of some tiresome paperwork. Catra dramatically fell onto the bed, which was no longer suspended from the ceiling and was now on the ground so that Bow could easily get in it. </p>
<p>“First of all, you have no room to talk about not knocking before entering a room Miss I-teleport-where-I-want-when-I-want. Secondly, as much as I love this little banter thing we've got going on, now’s not the time for that. How did you do it?” She hissed out, sounding more anxious than annoyed.</p>
<p>“And, what exactly are you referring to?” Glimmer asked. Catra groaned loudly, grabbed one of Glimmer’s pillows, and covered her face with it. Glimmer sat back and watched Catra throw her dramatic little hissy fit.</p>
<p>“How did you propose to Bow?” Catra finally repeated, the sound muffled by the thick pillow covering her face. Glimmer’s eyes went wide in realization. Suddenly, she didn’t mind the fact that Catra had just broken into her room unexpectedly.</p>
<p>“Wait! Are you—”</p>
<p>“Yes, okay! It’s been on my mind since your wedding!” Catra screamed, moving the pillow from covering her face. “When I was taking Adora back to our room she said she wanted us to have a wedding, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since.”</p>
<p>“That explains a lot, actually,” Glimmer noted. So that was why Adora had been so freaked out when ranting to her and Bow.</p>
<p>“I know that she probably didn’t mean it and had no idea what she was saying, but I’ve thought about it a lot, and I decided that I want to do this.” Catra hugged the pillow to her chest, showing a soft, lovestruck smile. “I want to call Adora my wife.” She did. She really did. She had spent a long time just thinking about it, imagining her and Adora’s wedding, fantasizing about being able to introduce Adora as her wife, repeating the sentiment out loud over and over again. She always came back to the same conclusion: that was what she wanted to do. She wanted to marry the woman of her dreams, who she loved with her whole heart.</p>
<p>“Aww! That is so sweet!” Glimmer cooed, only partially teasingly, earning her a pillow to the face.</p>
<p>“Shut up!” Catra shifted her position awkwardly. She wasn’t really one to ask for help, especially with something this personal, but she had no clue where to start or where to go with this. Glimmer was her friend, someone she trusted, and she definitely knew more about the topic at hand that Catra did. “Look, can you help me or not? Because I have no idea what I’m doing here.” Glimmer smiled at her and nodded.</p>
<p>“Of course I can help, Catra,” She said.</p>
<p>“Thank you, Glimmer,” Catra breathed out thankfully, smiling genuinely back at the other girl.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>Bow was quietly reading in the library, enjoying a peaceful afternoon all by himself. That was, until Adora frantically ran into the library, accidentally knocking over a stack of books on her way in. Seeing that she was chewing her lip obsessively, he closed his book and set it on the end table beside him. There would be other days for reading about linguistics. Right now, his title as the best of best friends (a joking title that he was so proud of that he had it written on a cup he uses every morning now) was at stake.</p>
<p>“What’s the matter, Adora?” He asked, patting the seat cushion beside him, gesturing for Adora to sit.</p>
<p>“Well,” Adora began as she sat down, “I think I might have a small problem.”</p>
<p>“Which is?” Bow prodded.</p>
<p>“I want to marry Catra,”Adora blurted out. Bow gave her a confused look. That wasn’t usually the way someone would start a conversation.</p>
<p>“Why is that a problem?” He asked her, utterly confused. Adora opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, pondering what the right thing to say would be.</p>
<p>“It’s not. Not in that way, anyway.” She let out a small, pathetic whine of inner turmoil, leaning over to rest her head on Bow’s shoulder. “I want to marry Catra, but I don’t know if she wants to marry me. And, I’m afraid that I’ll mess up what we have right now if I try to ask.” bow put a comforting arm around the fretting girl.</p>
<p>“There’s no harm in putting yourself out there, Adora. Worst case scenario is that she says no.” Bow spoke calmly and rationally, like he usually did, but it still did nothing to ease Adora’s stress.</p>
<p>“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Adora sighed, running a hand through her hair. “I’m not sure how I would take that rejection. It took forever just to be able to get where we are now. I don’t want to ruin it with a silly question. I know it’s kind of stupid”</p>
<p>“It’s not silly or stupid. That’s a totally valid fear to have, but I don’t think you’ll have to worry about it. Catra loves you and you love Catra. I don’t think the end of the world could tear you two apart.” He stopped, sharing a knowing grimace with Adora. Given the fact that the literal end of the world actually almost happened and it did almost tear them apart.... “Okay, so maybe that wasn’t the best phrasing, but you know what I mean. You’ll never know if you don’t ask.” Adora nodded into Bow's shoulder.</p>
<p>“Okay. Okay.” She took a deep breath and stood up with certainty and determination.. “Bow, I'm going to propose to Catra,” She confidently declared.</p>
<p>“That’s the spirit, Adora! Go get her!” Bow cheered with supportive applause. Adora had made up her mind. She was going to ask the love of her life to marry her and it was going to be amazing.</p>
<p>“Just one question: how do I do that?”</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>Glimmer spun her chair around when she heard the door open. Bow walked in, a familiar expression on his face that Glimmer recognized very well. He had some juicy gossip to spill. As a queen, Glimmer often had to keep it respectful, professional, and objective in front of others. That being said, she had developed quite the taste for drama and gossip. And, as it seemed to be the case lately, her lust for juicy details had rubbed off on her beloved husband, Bow. She truly was a bad influence. Glimmer glanced at her desk, then back to Bow, weighing the importance of writing reports on trade routes versus a gossip filled snuggle session with her beloved. Then, she turned off her desk light pointedly. The paperwork would still be there for her to complete tomorrow. She walked over to her husband and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a peck on the lips.</p>
<p>“Hey, Bow,” She prompted a conversation. “How was your tranquil day in the library? Did you finish that book you were reading? Something about the history of language right?” He shook his head.</p>
<p>“Nope. I was stopped short by someone before I could get halfway through chapter twelve,” he said very matter-of-factly. Glimmer raised her eyebrows in curiosity.</p>
<p>“Oh? By who?” She questioned.</p>
<p>“It was Adora,” he said. “She’s going to propose to Catra.”</p>
<p>“No,” Glimmer gasped.</p>
<p>“Yep.” Bow went over to their bed and adjusted the pillows that Catra had messed up earlier, which reminded Glimmer of her similar situation.</p>
<p>“That’s ironic…” She trailed off suggestively. Bow looked back at her with an inquiring expression as he slipped under the covers of the bed.</p>
<p>“Why?” he inquired with a certain glint in his eyes. Glimmer shrugged inconspicuously and joined him under the covers.</p>
<p>“Catra came to see me today. She’s planning on proposing too.” Bow blinked and recoiled in shock. It certainly was ironic, wasn’t it.</p>
<p>“Wow.” He said blankly, looking down at his wife. “Should we say something or do something?”</p>
<p>“Nah,” Glimmer said, waving her hand dismissively. “We just need to be there to watch it happen.”</p>
<p>“Those two are something special, huh?” Bow mused, to which Glimmer nodded in agreement.</p>
<p>“Those two are— and I say this with total love for the both of them— absolute disasters. Literally everything they do somehow always turns out to be this dramatic and oddly poetic.” They both chuckled at that. Mainly because it was extremely true, just from looking at past experiences.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>Catra was unbelievably nervous, as most people would be before such a momentous occasion. She was finally going to ask Adora to be her wife tonight. If things went well, her and Adora would be taking a huge step in their relationship. If things didn’t go well… Catra wasn’t sure what would happen, but she tried not to think about it too much. She looked at herself in the mirror once, twice, a third time, just to be sure she looked okay. Everything had to be perfect tonight. Catra wanted no mistakes and no mishaps. That being said, she felt around in her pocket, checking to make sure the small ring box was still there. It was, just like it had been the last ten times she checked. All she could really do at this point was wait for Adora.</p>
<p>Adora wasn’t much better off herself. She was examining her face closely in the bathroom mirror. Were her blemishes noticeable? Did her hair look okay? Were her cheeks always that red, or was it just the tension and anxiety? She sighed, giving up on her reflection and turning her attention to the pin she held in her hand. She wasn’t totally sure about giving Catra the first thing she had received after leaving the Horde, after leaving her. She feared that it might cut open old wounds and that they had spent so long patching up. She feared it would give her a clear reason for rejection. Still, it was the only thing that felt… right for this. Nothing else she could think to give her felt quite the same as her winged pin. Pushing all doubts aside (even if only temporarily), Adora shoved the pin deep into the pocket of her dress. She took one last steadying breath and exited the bathroom.</p>
<p>“Hey, Adora.” No matter how many times Catra had said them, those magic words still made Adora’s heart flutter when she heard them.</p>
<p>“Hey, Catra.” Catra was leaning against her dresser in a simple long-sleeved shirt and loose red pants. “Wow! You look…” Catra smirked, stepping forward and scanning Adora’s outfit, a white one-peice set with golden details.</p>
<p>“Thanks. You too.” They shared a nervous kiss, tension hanging thick in the air around them. “Ready?” Catra asked and held her arm out to link with Adora's. She wasn't exactly sure if she was asking Adora or herself. Adora took a deep, level-headed breath and accepted Catra's arm.</p>
<p>“Yeah. Let’s do this.” This was it. Ready or not, tonight was the night.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>Their date led them to the Brightmoon gardens just as the day was coming to a close. They sat on a bench together, enjoying each other’s presence as they watched the sun go down. Catra saw an opening opportunity. Now was the perfect time for her to pop the big question. This was the magical moment she had been waiting for. However, Adora saw her window closing. She had been waiting the whole date for a time that felt just right, but she had waited a little too long. Their date was almost over and she hadn’t made the move yet. She had to get it out soon or else she wouldn’t get the same chance back again. This resulted in the two of them talking insistently over each other before they both muttered an embarrassed apology.</p>
<p>“What were you trying to say, Catra?” Adora shrunk back, throwing the spotlight back onto Catra in a slight panic.</p>
<p>“Uh, you should— you should probably go first.” Catra threw the spotlight back onto Adora. If Adora had something she needed to say, Catra didn’t want to downplay it. Plus, she needed a minute to hype herself up and away from getting cold feet.</p>
<p>“Um, okay.” Adora stood up from the bench and took a deep breath to collect herself. “Catra, I love you so much. I love you with all of my heart. I don’t even know when I started loving you, but I never stopped for a second. We took a long time to do it, but I wake up every morning so thankful that we found our way back to each other. And, I hope what I’m about to do is okay, because I’ve been planning it for the past week and a half, but-” Adora kneeled down in front of Catra and fumbled to grab the pin from her pocket.</p>
<p>“Oh my gosh,” Catra gasped. “Tell me your not—” Adora finally managed to get the pin out and held it up. Catra burst out laughing.</p>
<p>“Oh- uh, sorry. Yeah, that was a stupid idea. I shouldn’t-” Adora’s face fell and she rushed to shove the small item back in her pocket and stand up.</p>
<p>“No! No, Adora,” Catra exclaimed through her wheezing. “It was a wonderful idea. Such a wonderful idea, in fact, that I-” She pulled the box from her pocket and got down one one knee.</p>
<p>“No way—”</p>
<p>“—had the exact same idea. Great minds think alike, I guess.” Adora all but tackled Catra in a hug. Both of them tumbled to the ground, laughing in between long, affectionate kisses and gentle caresses that lingered when they broke apart.</p>
<p>“Are we— does this mean that we’re engaged?” Adora breathlessly asked.</p>
<p>“What do you think, dummy?” Catra flicked her forehead. “Man, my fiance can’t even tell if we’re engaged or not. How embarrassing.” Adora broke out in a grin, lunging forward to press her lips to every part of Catra’s face that she could reach.</p>
<p>“I love you. I love you. I love you,” She repeated after every single loving touch. “I love you so much, my amazing fiance!” Adora was overwhelmed with absolute joy. Catra, the love of her life, her fiance, was soon going to be her wife.</p>
<p>“I love you too,” Catra whispered giddily. Catra was ecstatic too. She had never felt this much happiness and love in her entire life, although she assumed that would change when she could finally call Adora her wife.</p>
<p>“Congrats on the engagement!” Bow shouted, peeking out from behind a bush.</p>
<p>“Bow! They weren’t supposed to know we were here!” Glimmer fussed at him with a smack to his leg.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>Later that night, after plenty of due celebration, both with friends and by themselves, the couple lay cuddled close in their bed. Adora affectionately brushed her fingers against Catra's ears, bringing forth a low, contented purr from somewhere deep in Catra's chest. Never in a million years would they imagine they'd ever be where they are, lovingly pressed up against each other in a bed that they shared after proposing to each other. Yet, here they were, doing exactly that. Life truly couldn't get any better. They were truly happy.</p>
<p>“Hey,” Catra whispered. “Promise this is real? Promise me it’s not all in my head?” She had to make sure. She had to know it wasn't just some sick dream. She had to know she wouldn't wake up and it would all be gone. Adora tugged her closer.</p>
<p>“I promise," she whispered back. “I mean, do these muscles look anything but real?” Adora said as she flexed.</p>
<p>“Oh my gosh! You are such a dork!” Catra guffawed, lightly shoving Adora away.</p>
<p>“Yeah, but you love it," Adora retorted back.</p>
<p>They fell asleep in each other's arms, still bursting and beaming with bliss. Whatever dreams they had, they wouldn't remember them. Nothing their imaginations could ever come up with would ever live up to the reality that they had with each other.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>It took forever, but I finally finished this chapter! Only two more to go!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Their Wedding</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The early morning sun shined through the large bedroom window and onto Catra and Adora's bed, softly waking the two soon to be wives who were peacefully cuddled up together on top of it. Two pairs of sleepy eyes slowly opened, each fixed on the other woman. Adora grinned, her smile stretching from ear to ear, at her future wife and leaned in for a morning kiss.</p>
<p>"Good morning, my love," Adora whispered giddily in a sleep-coated voice. "Do you know what today is?"</p>
<p>"Yes, but I bet you're still going to tell me anyway,” Catra laughed, brushing a strand of hair out of Adora’s face and tucking it behind her ear.</p>
<p>"Today is our wedding day!” Adora announced proudly. “Today is the day that I get to call you my wife forever and ever and ever!"</p>
<p>"And I wouldn't have it any other way,” Catra said, pulling Adora in close for another lingering kiss. "Do you think Glimmer is going to make us do that dumb thing where we can't see each other until the ceremony? Because that tradition is dumb and I don't want to do that."</p>
<p>"Mm. She can try,” Adora hummed in response. “I don't think either of us will last long if she does. I don’t want to be apart from you for a single second today." Considering that they had just woken up and already couldn’t tear away from each other long enough to get out of bed, that statement was likely to be proven true. They had been excessively clingy since their proposal, and they sure enough weren’t going to stop now.</p>
<p>"Agreed. If I can't kiss you for a whole three hours, I guarantee you that I will absolutely lose it." Adora threw her head back laughing, but Catra remained as serious as ever. “You might think I’m joking, but I’m dead serious! I am not afraid to physically fight anyone who tries to keep me from the woman of my dreams on our wedding day! I want to be able to kiss you every step of the way, and nothing Sparkles tries to do can stop me from doing just that.” She punctuated her statement with yet another kiss. It was kind of a sloppy one, since Adora was too busy snorting to kiss back.</p>
<p>“She’s going to have her hands pretty full with the two of us, huh?” She said.</p>
<p>“Whatever. Serves her right. Sometimes she’s too much of a control freak for her own good.”</p>
<p>“Glimmer is not a control freak! She’s just…” Adora trailed off, struggling to grasp a good way to word what she was trying to convey.</p>
<p>“Bossy?” Catra suggested. “I think the word you're looking for is bossy.”</p>
<p>“That’s not nice, Catra.” Adora gave her a scolding look. Catra shrugged.</p>
<p>“Chill, Adora. She’s said it herself that she’s bossy,” Catra explained. “It's kind of one of those things that’s just there. Like, she’s bossy, and I’m mean, Bow trusts people way too easily, and you’re oblivious.”</p>
<p>“Rude!” Adora gasped, playfully pushing Catra away. This inspired an impromptu wrestling match, which somehow turned into Catra and Adora rolling around on the bed and making out through fits of uncontrollable laughter. When the laughter died down, they stayed cuddled up with each other for another half hour before they got up. “We’re going to be wives by the end of the day.” Adora smiled.</p>
<p>“Yeah, we are.” Catra smiled too.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>Adora and Catra walked into the dining hall arm in arm, clinging to each other affectionately. Glimmer, Bow, and Micah were all seated around the table.</p>
<p>“Morning.” Catra said in passing as she hopped into a chair.</p>
<p>“Good morning, our lovely brides-to-be!” Micah greeted. “Are you guys excited for today?”</p>
<p>“More than you can imagine.” Adora proved her point by leaning down to give Catra a long, deep, blissful kiss before she sat down next to her. Their chairs were closer together than the others. They had scooted them closer to each other at mealtime so often that eventually the chairs were just left that way.</p>
<p>“Hey, save some of that for the wedding, won’t you?” Glimmer fussed at them.</p>
<p>“Sorry. I can’t help it,” Catra claimed, throwing up her hands innocently. “I just have the most irresistible fiance in all of Etheria.”</p>
<p>“Please!” Adora laughed loudly, gently poking Catra’s side making the other girl yelp. “That can not be possible, because that title belongs to my fiance.” They leaned toward each other across their seats again, waiting for their lips to touch, but were interrupted by a flash of light and a hand separating them.</p>
<p>“And I am going to scream if you two don’t stop making out for five seconds and eat your breakfast,” Glimmer groaned jokingly. She waited for Catra and Adora to sit back in their seats and return to their plates before she teleported back to her own seat.</p>
<p>“Jealous much?” Catra smirked.</p>
<p>“My husband is literally sitting right there." Glimmer gestured to Bow, who was quietly eating his eggs, either unaware or unbothered by the antics between his wife and friend. “I’m just aware of the definition of overdoing the PDA.”</p>
<p>“And? That doesn’t answer the question, Sparkles,” Catra snarked.</p>
<p>“Ugh! Adora, I am going to murder your fiance!”</p>
<p>“Can it please wait until she’s my wife?” Adora requested, shoving a forkful of eggs in her mouth.</p>
<p>“We’ll see if she lasts that long.”</p>
<p>“Psh. You wish you could take me, Sparkles,” Catra challenged her.</p>
<p>“Oh? Do you want to bet?” Glimmer stood up from the table, a devilish smile gracing her lips.</p>
<p>“Actually, yes. I would like to bet." Catra stood up as well, the same mischievous smile on her face.</p>
<p>“Okay, then! Let’s take this to the courtyard, shall we.” They both zoomed out the dining room and raced to the courtyard. They purposefully picked a fight like this every now and then. They never meant any real harm, but it was fun to build up their adrenaline and throw a couple of meaningless punches that never did anything every now and then.</p>
<p>“I saw that one coming from a mile away,” Bow commented. “Glimmer has been itching for a fight for a while.”</p>
<p>“Should we try to stop them?” Micah asked.</p>
<p>“Nah,” Adora responded. “They won’t seriously hurt each other, and it’ll be good for them to get that energy out.”</p>
<p>“The people we love, huh?” Micah joked.</p>
<p>“Uh huh,” Bow agreed.</p>
<p>“Yup," Adora nodded.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>Adora studied herself in the mirror. She hadn’t initially been sure about how she would look in the dress she had chosen for today, but actually looking at herself in it now gave her a boost of confidence and serotonin. She wasn’t sure if that was because it actually looked good on her and she liked it or if it was just the high she was on from the excitement of today.</p>
<p>“Okay, I’m ready.” Adora sighed nervously as she peeked out from behind the dressing divider, the long train of her dress trailing behind her. “So? How do I look, guys?” Glimmer and Bow, who had previously been deep in a conversation about annoying diplomats, turned to face her when she stepped out. Glimmer’s jaw dropped lightly and Bow’s hand shot up to cover his mouth in shock.</p>
<p>“Oh my stars! You look absolutely gorgeous, Adora!” Bow gasped from behind his hand, his eyes slightly tearing up.</p>
<p>“You really think so?” Adora spun around slowly, careful not to step on her dress as she did.</p>
<p>“Think so? Uh, we know so. It looks great on you!” Glimmer said, clasping her hands together. “But it’s just missing one little detail. Turn around, Adora.” She did and she heard Glimmer shuffle around the room in search of something. A moment later, she felt a weight around her neck.</p>
<p>“Now the look is complete.” Adora looked down and saw one one of Glimmer’s necklaces that used to belong to Angella securely fastened around her neck and splayed across her chest. Her eyes watered and she felt her heart swell.</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Adora said, smiling at the two of them as she pulled them in for a hug. “For all of this. For everything.”</p>
<p>“Hey, it’s no problem! You’ve done the same for us. It’s the least we could do for you and Catra,” Bow said, gently patting Adora’s back. Glimmer tore away from the group hug.</p>
<p>“Speaking of, I’ll be right back, guys. I’m going to go check on Catra.” She gave Bow a quick kiss and headed for the door. “Bow, do not let her out of your sight! She can be sneaky if you don’t keep an eye on her.”</p>
<p>“You’ve got it, Queen Glimmer.” Bow said as she walked out, winking at Adora. Once the door closed behind her, Adora spoke up.</p>
<p>“So, are you actually going to do what Glimmer said or—” Bow laughed, shaking his head.</p>
<p>“Yeah, no. Not at all. Glimmer can get a little ahead of herself sometimes. If you and Catra want to see each other, nothing is standing in your way. I’m not going to stop you. Glimmer might act like she will, but she’s not going to stop you either. She’s just being a little pretentious.” Adora pulled him in for another hug, squeezing around his shoulders tightly.</p>
<p>“I love you, Bow.” She said into his jacket. He gave her a supportive pat on the back and pulled back.</p>
<p>“I love you too. Now, go see her.”</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>“I don’t know, Scorpia,” Catra said, eyeing her reflection suspiciously. “Are you sure I look okay?” She had felt good, amazing even, when she had originally picked out the outfit. Now it just left a number of doubts to float around in her head. She figured it was just due to jitters and nervousness, but no amount of logic could keep the persistent worries away.</p>
<p>“You look amazing, wildcat! Absolutely stunning!” Scorpia beamed beside her, holding her claws to her chest.</p>
<p>“Do you really think that, or are you just saying that because you’re my friend and you have to?”</p>
<p>“I really mean it, Catra. You really do look great in that outfit.” Scorpia put a reassuring claw on Catra’s shoulder and gave her a genuine smile through the mirror. “What really matters, though, is how you feel about it? After all you are the one getting married today, not me or anyone else. So, how do you think you look?” Catra looked herself up and down in the full length mirror. She tried to focus on how she looked in the outfit and how it made her feel, but she kept getting distracted by other details. She noticed the light bags under her eyes. She noticed her fluffed out tail. She noticed her messy hair that she had pulled at a number of times today. She noticed her collar, slightly off center from where she had pulled at it. That one was probably karma for fussing at Bow for doing the same thing at his wedding.</p>
<p>“I think I look like a nervous wreck,” she guffawed at herself.</p>
<p>“Hey!” Glimmer marched through the door and over to Catra and Scorpia at the mirror. “You look awesome! How is everything going in here?”</p>
<p>“It’s going great!” Scorpia exclaimed. “I was just telling Catra how amazing she looks in that outfit.”</p>
<p>“It would be going a lot better if I could see my fiance,” Catra complained, shooting Glimmer a hardened glare.</p>
<p>“Yeah, yeah. I heard the exact same thing five minutes ago. Knowing the two of you, you would probably end up accidentally skipping the whole wedding to make out somewhere.”</p>
<p>“Careful, sparkles. Don’t want to give me too many ideas,” Catra remarked. Glimmer sent a warning look her way. “You said you were just with her before coming here. How is she?”</p>
<p>“Adora is fine. She’s just about as anxious and excited as you are.” Glimmer gave her a sympathetic and assuring smile.</p>
<p>“See! I told you!” Catra said pointedly to Scorpia.</p>
<p>“Friends seeing it doesn’t count! Your friends know your tells!” Scorpia retorted back at her, sounding a lot like Perfuma.</p>
<p>“What?” Glimmer looked at the two of them confusedly.</p>
<p>“Nothing.” Catra waited about five seconds before asking a tactical question. “So, are you going back to check on Adora?”</p>
<p>“You guys already planned to sneak away and meet up, didn’t you?” Glimmer asked, eyeing Catra from the side.</p>
<p>“Psh! I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Catra’s lie was noticeable. She was usually good at lying but her jitters got the best of her and she was given away by both the sudden pitch in her voice and by Melog, who was waiting for her by the door. “Okay, so maybe we did.”</p>
<p>“Fine, go ahead,” Glimmer caved. “Just, please, be back before the actual event starts!”</p>
<p>“No promises,” Catra called out, already running down the hall.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>Adora sat on the roof of the castle, looking out at the view of the kingdom from that high up. It reminded her of the many times when she would spend hours with Catra on a roof, both in the Fright Zone during their childhood and here in Brightmoon after the war. Adora hadn’t even thought it possible to get to the roof of the castle like they did in the Fright Zone, but Catra was quick to prove her wrong not long after she had first moved into the castle. Catra taught her how to clamer her way up there and since then the roof has returned to being their escape from the menial trifles of day to day life.</p>
<p>“Hey, Adora.” Adora turned around at the sound of her fiance’s voice.</p>
<p>“Woah. You look amazing.” She gaped in awe at the woman before her.</p>
<p>“Right back at you.” Catra said, ditching the coky tone that would usually accompany those words for a more soft, sweet, genuine one. “Are you nervous?”</p>
<p>“A little bit,” Adora admitted. “I don’t know why though. We’ve been waiting for today for a really long time, and I know you love me and that we both want this.”</p>
<p>“Yeah. I know the feeling,” Catra mumbled, pulling Adora close with her tail. “I think it’s because it doesn’t feel real. It all feels like it’s too good to be true. At least, that’s what I think is going on with me.”</p>
<p>“But it is real.” Adora placed a hand on Catra’s cheek, guiding her gaze until their eyes met. She smiled at her, gently tracing a thumb over her face as their foreheads touched. “We’re really here together. We’re really about to get married. You are really about to be my wife, and I’m really about to be yours.”</p>
<p>“This isn’t a dream,” Catra echoed. “Reality finally caught up with my dreams, but this isn’t a dream.”</p>
<p>“Adora! Catra!” Glimmer called out, having just teleported to the one place where she knew she was sure to find the couple. She spotted them and marched over to them. “Guys, It’s one thing to sneak away for a few. Weddings can be nerve wracking and stressful, I get it. It’s not a big deal. However, I cannot condone being absent from your own wedding because you wanted smooches.”</p>
<p>“I blame Adora. She’s too cute,” Catra said, poking at Adora’s side.</p>
<p>“Oh, yeah? Well, I guess that means that you’re double guilty then.” Adora said sticking out her tongue at Catra.</p>
<p>“I love you both dearly, but I don’t care which one of you is cuter right now.” Glimmer took hold of one of each of their wrists, preparing to teleport off of the windy castle roof. “Come on. Your wedding is starting soon and I will not let you skip it to make out.”</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>Whispers simmered among the guests. The wedding ceremony was supposed to start ten minutes ago, but the ceremony was temporarily put on hold when neither of the brides showed up. Everyone panicked for a brief moment, worried that something might have happened to the couple. However, their fears were quickly put to rest when Glimmer came through the door, dragging both girls behind her by their wrists.</p>
<p>“A little anticlimactic, but they were just making out on the roof, just like I thought they would be,” Glimmer announced to the crowd, letting go of the girls wrists and retreating to her seat.</p>
<p>“Shall we begin then?” Castaspella asked, raising an eyebrow at the girls.</p>
<p>“Shall we, Adora?” Catra offered out a hand to Adora. Adora grinned and gladly accepted her hand.</p>
<p>“We shall.” They both walked down the aisle hand in hand, absolutely filled to the brim with joy.</p>
<p>“It is now time for the exchange.” Casta handed Adora the pin and Catra the ring.</p>
<p>“I love you, Adora. I love you more than I have ever loved anything in my entire life. I love you so much that sometimes it’s been suffocating, but I’d gladly drown in everything about you than live without you. You are my life, my light, and my entire world. You mean everything to me. There were times when I thought I hated you. I swore that I despised your existence. What I really hated was the idea of losing you, because not having you in my life would be— was— like torture. It felt like I was trapped in the dark with the worst of me. But, now, I get to have you for the rest of my life. I get to have your goofy laughs, and your corny jokes, and your cute blushes, and your sweet ramblings that could go on forever, and your dorky smile, and everything else about you. I can assure you that I am the happiest woman in the universe to be able to say that I’m yours and you’re mine, and it’ll stay that way for the rest of our lives. That’s a promise.” Catra took Adora’s hand and slipped the ring onto her finger.</p>
<p>“I’m just going to be honest here and say that I gave up on making notecards for this approximately forty five minutes into trying to come up with what to say, so I have no idea what’s about to come out of my mouth. Probably a bunch of word vomit.” “I have to start by saying that you lied just a second ago; you are not the happiest girl in the universe because that would have to be me, since I have the most stunning woman ever standing in front of me at our wedding. You are my best friend and the love of my life. You always have been. It took me a long time to figure it out, and when I say a long time I mean a long time. Like, a really long time, as in finding a magic sword, fighting in a war for three years, learning I was a superweapon, almost dying with the rest of the planet, losing you, saving you, almost losing you again, and almost dying again in another near-apocalypse. But I did figure it out in the end. And, now, here we are, getting married. This is everything that I could ever have hoped for. I promise to stay with you, and love you, and grow with you forever. You complete me and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Adora pinned the pin right over Catra’s chest.</p>
<p>“You may—” Catra cupped Adora’s face and yanked her in for a searing kiss. “This happens every time! I’m not sure we even added that last bit in there in the first place if no one ever waits for it.” People cheered and clapped, but neither Catra nor Adora were paying attention to them. They were far too wrapped up in each other as Catra dipped Adora over, deepening their kiss.</p>
<p>“I love my wife!” Adora exclaimed breathlessly when they finally broke apart for air.</p>
<p>“You’re such a dork,” Catra sighed, pulling her right back in for another intoxicating kiss.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>It's a lot shorter than I initially planned for it to be because I got sidetracked by a new idea (which has now somehow turned into a 5000 word WIP somehow...) and lost my train of thought halfway through writing this. The next chapter won't be very long; it's just going to fluff and tying up loose ends n stuff.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. A Promise is Forever</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The shimmering colors of the sunrise decorated the walls of Catra and Adora's room, just as it did every morning. Streams of soft sunlight highlighted the aged features of the two women’s faces.These early hours were always cherished. Sometimes, both wives would spend the morning sleeping in, entangling their limbs as they cuddled. Sometimes, Catra would be the first to wake up, in which she usually softly tickled Adora awake with her tail. Sometimes, Adora would wake up first; she would just lie there, looking at and admiring the way her wife looked as she slept peacefully in the glow of the early morning sunlight. Lately, however, someone new was the first out of all of them to wake up, but the other two were never too far behind. The small, shrill cry of an infant sounded from the corner of the room, alerting both of the women.</p>
<p>"I’m not getting up yet. It's your turn. I was the one to get up last time," Catra mumbled into the pillow, rolling over and taking the covers with her.</p>
<p>"Yeah, I know,” Adora sighed, getting up and making her way over to the bassinet. She picked up the small child and gently rocked them in her arms, cooing sweetly at them. The fussy baby immediately calmed down like clockwork. They babbled and wigged in Adora’s arms as she held them against her chest.</p>
<p>“You are really good at that, you know," Catra said, coming up behind Adora and wrapping her slender arms around her waist.</p>
<p>“What happened to not getting up yet?” Adora asked, leaning back into the embrace.</p>
<p>“I changed my mind. Am I allowed to do that, Princess?” They had grown older, but Catra still had the same amount of wit and snark as she did in her youth.</p>
<p>“Of course you are. I just thought you would want to sleep in.” Catra had been the one to stay up late last night, taking care of the baby until they fell asleep so that Adora could get the rest she needed.</p>
<p>"Yeah, well, I came to the conclusion that hanging out with my wife and our kid is much better than sleep,” Catra cooed, making faces at the baby from over Adora’s shoulder, causing them to laugh.</p>
<p>"Aww, that's so sweet!" Adora smiled, turning her head to peck Catra’s cheek lovingly. Catra laughed lightly.</p>
<p>"What can I say?” Catra nuzzled her nose into Adora’s neck, placing a gentle kiss where her lips were. “You rubbed off on me." They stayed in that position for a while, Adora rocking back and forth while Catra was pressed against her back and into her neck.</p>
<p>"I know it's been years, but I still can't believe all of this is real,” Adora whispered quietly, as if her words could break the fragile reality she was living in.</p>
<p>"I know. Everything always feels too good to be true, like a dream we're going to wake up from any minute." It had been a very real fear in their relationship for a while, with the absolute disbelief that both of them shared at how pure and good everything was. Between the two of them, though, they managed to keep each other in the present, convince each other that it was all real. It had suddenly occurred to Adora that she had never told Catra about why she always feared that it all might not be real.</p>
<p>"Do you remember our first kiss?" She asked, leading into the topic.</p>
<p>"Uh, duh? How could I forget it? It literally saved the world. We turned colors, Adora,” Catra laughed.</p>
<p>"Okay, yeah. Fair point," Adora laughed with her. "Before that, I had a dream, or a vision, I guess."</p>
<p>"Oh?" Catra inquired, lifting her head up. Adora gave a small nod.</p>
<p>"You were there, and so were Glimmer and Bow. We were so happy, like— like we are now. At the time, I didn't think it could ever be possible. I thought it was going to be just another unattainable dream.” She looked down, running a gentle finger across the side of her baby’s face. “But, here we are." Catra lightly squeezed Adora’s midsection, and pressed her lips to Adora’s shoulder.</p>
<p>"Here we are. You and me. Just like we always promised.”</p>
<p>Promises had always been special for Catra and Adora. They'd shared many since their early childhood. A promise to stick together. A promise to hold on. A promise to live. A promise to stay. But it was never about whatever was promised. It was about the word itself, because a promise guarantees a future. Because a promise is forever.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>That's all, folks! Congrats, you made it to the end of the dumpster fire that is 10 chapters of me projecting my emotions and romantic fantasies onto fictional characters! This chapter was extremely short because it mainly just serves as a sort of epilogue. It would've been done a long time ago but I got caught up with life. Hope you enjoyed it though! And, I hope you enjoyed the story!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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